


A Hop, Skip, and a Jump

by Genuka



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Evil Dumbledore, Horcruxes, Insanity, Living Magical Buildings, M/M, Magical Bond, Magical Deals, Manipulative Dumbledore, Mpreg, Multi, Past Torture, Past Violence, Possessive Behavior, Potter Luck, Pregnant Voldemort, Random Updates, Rating May Change, Royalty, Tags May Change, Time Travel Fix-It, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-11
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2018-03-11 15:02:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 32
Words: 92,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3330317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Genuka/pseuds/Genuka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The moment Voldemort fell in the final battle something extraordinary happened... Death made a deal, now the entire wizarding world has to live with that deal. May the gods have mercy on us all...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this is something I've sort of been working on and I need opinions on whether its worth continuing or merging with something else or whatever... Depending upon the response I'll add/write more and post it.

Voldemort watched as the Elder wand rejected his mastery in favor of the boy, no, young man facing him, confirming Potter's words. His _Avada Kedavra_ meeting Potter's own cast _Expelliarmus_ , watching as once more the acid green spell was rebounded in such a way that he had no chance to avoid it. As the spell hit him, Voldemort felt himself separate from his body one last time and felt the other pieces of his shattered soul return. One by one they returned along with the knowledge of what happened to each of them until his soul and mind were whole once more. Understanding and acceptance flashed through the wizard as he stood just behind where his body now lay, with the world of the living frozen in that split second moment when his body finally landed on the cobblestones of the main courtyard.

"You've caused me quite a bit of trouble Tom Marvolo Riddle." A voice from behind him said reproachfully, with just a touch of both humor and annoyance to soften the blow.

"Yes, I suppose I have." Voldemort said without turning, as he gazed down at his own fallen form. "Why is it that you never collected the boy?"

"I honored an old blood pact between myself and a bloodline the both of you share, just as I have done in the past for you. The Peverell brothers were frustrating, annoying, and at times highly amusing. It is rare that a true immortal such as myself can once more become so engaged in the lives of mortals. There are drawbacks to being immortal you know." Death informed him as he stepped forward to stand next to the man he had become rather fond of over the years. Both of them knew he was there to collect the Dark Lord.

"I never knew. I doubt the boy knows either." Voldemort said musingly, referring to the agreement, as his features faded from his more serpentine form back into that of a 20 year old version of his younger self, the true Tom Riddle. "I do not know the terms of the pact, nor the price but... would you be willing to consider.. no, you don't have control over time."

"Speak, there is little enough to interest or amuse me. I am interested to know what you would risk any price for, and don't deny it." Death ordered, Voldemort nodded his acquiescence as he finally turned to face the being known simply as Death.

"I would like a chance to mitigate the damage done, on both sides. For this to work I would need a chance to convince a younger version of myself that Potter should be trained properly or at least left alone. Its clear to me now that if I cannot help protect our world then Harry Potter is the next most suited to the task I was attempting to accomplish. Dumbledore has played us all for fool on his merry chessboard of the wizarding world. I want to change that." Voldemort, now fully once again Tom Riddle, informed the skeleton-like creature.

"Harry James Potter currently holds the title Master of Death." Death informed him. "This can only happen if certain requirements are met. First all three of my Hallows are to be collected into the simultaneous possession or ownership of the individual, the second is that they must be of the Peverell bloodline. I do accept blood adoptions for this requirement but the correct adoption induced effect must be present. If I am to grant your request, just as when the pact was first enacted... there will be a price."

"May I ask the price?" Riddle asked evenly. Death simply looked at him for a moment before responding.

"I like you. I like both of you but this on going feud simply gives me more work, not that I don't enjoy my work. I will grant you several options, each of which has a different price. A price that will not extend only to you but to your followers and young Mr. Potter as well." Death warned. "It is unlikely that Lady Fate or Lady Magic will agree to anything even if you agree to the price. The price will be affected by their own opinions and reactions to the proposal."

"We're listening." A beautiful raven haired young woman said appearing with another auburn haired woman, both dressed in skimpy spandex-like ornate armor, alongside her from behind a pillar nearby only to approach them and stop a few feet from the fallen wizard and Death.

"All of this? Its a waste. I realize now that I am mostly to blame for it. I clearly wasn't in my right mind during the majority of my campaign. I want to try and fix that or at least give them a chance of if not fixing it themselves then of defending themselves when the good will of the muggles runs out or we are discovered by the majority of the non-magical population." Riddle explained almost sadly. "I never wanted the wizarding world in ruins or even at risk but I couldn't seem to find a way to help without first tearing down the old system. I _know_ how much of a threat the muggles are. I _know_ that they will turn on us the moment our presence is revealed. Oh, if we're introduced the right way we _might_ manage a bit of a grace period as a novelty, enough that the magical community might settle into a false sense of security, if we're lucky. But for all their lack of magic muggles are still human, and humans do not take exposure to the unknown well. Even less so when they know or suspect that there is danger hidden in that unknown. I would not see our people slaughtered. Do with me what you will but _please_ give me a chance to fix this enough that at least some of us might survive."

The two woman studied him for a moment, judging his sincerity, before they both broke out in broad grins. They quickly began to discuss, Riddle presumed, the situation in a high lilting language that flowed and bubbled almost like water in a brook or a stream. Death quickly joined the discussion in the same language leaving the dark wizard standing there trying and failing to decipher what they were saying. Finally the three turned to study him before the dark beauty spoke again.

"First you must be made aware of several facts. While powerful, we are not the creator. We cannot go against the creator's edicts which includes his declaration of free will for man kind. A choice will always exist for those with free will, it might not be a very good choice or even have a different outcome but the choice will still exist even if the choice is simply to do nothing. The events that led up to this day and the damage done by following this path are currently irreversible in this timeline. _However_ , we can take you back to a previous point in the timeline and cause a split into a new timeline." The raven haired woman informed him, even as her companion smirked evilly at him, causing chills to run down his spine.

"I understand and accept this. Might I ask that all of my knowledge and my bloodline be granted to this version of Potter before we create the new timeline? He might as well get the chance to use the resources that I have built up for their original untainted intended purpose." Riddle asked respectfully, earning himself impressed looks from both women.

"He _is_ a clever boy." The auburn woman murmured, her red-brown hair practically glittering in the weak sun light. Riddle had to stop him self from bristling at her words by reminding himself that all three of them were _far_ older than him and probably saw him as little more than a toddler. 

"And decently well mannered, not like some of those I've had to collect over the years." Death added. "Well ladies? Are we in agreement?"

"Yes, lets grant the child's request." The red-brown of her hair beginning to glow a bit with power.

"Ah, wait a moment Fate dear. We might as well grant his friend the bequest now rather than later." The dark haired Lady Magic said with a laugh, before gesturing at the still frozen Harry, bringing him back to life without unfreezing anyone or anything else.

"Wha?!" Harry exclaimed as he slumped forward onto his hands and knees. He quickly checked his surroundings and stared in shock when his gaze finally landed on Tom Riddle standing over Voldemort's body, finally muttering. "Must be dreaming or hit my head."

"No, lad, this is no dream, nor is it the product of a head trauma." Death said with a bark of laughter eerily similar to Sirius' own laugh, causing Harry to swallow a wave of grief even as he forced himself back to his feet.

"Am I dead then?" Harry asked cautiously.

"Are you standing over your own body?" Death countered, amusement still evident in his voice.

"I don't seem to be, but aren't you death?" Harry asked in puzzlement.

"Yes, I am. Well ladies it appears that the bloodline has bred true in both of the young ones." Death said in a pleased tone of voice.

"Alright. Sooo, what's going on?" Harry asked cautiously, deciding to ignore the bloodline comment.

"I am in the process of making a deal with Death, Lady Magic, and Lady Fate. I requested the chance to leave you as not only my full heir to both my titles and possessions but also my bloodline, my knowledge, and all other resources I've cultivated over the years." Riddle explained quickly. "This would include transfer of control of the dark mark to you as well as a blood adoption for you to carry the Slytherin bloodline. As you have already exhibited the parseltongue ability I have no doubt that it will re-manifest if you lost it when the shard of my soul took your place in the forest. Yes, I did figure out what happened but not until after I was dead with my mind and soul restored to me."

"You're not mad? I mean angry?" Harry asked cautiously.

"No, I'm actually rather greatful that you stopped me." Riddle told him with wry humor. "I haven't been properly in my right mind since I made my first Horcrux. If I get the chance I'll have to try and convince my younger self to reabsorb them."

"I see." Harry said with a sad smile even as he finally relaxed a bit before setting his jaw and squaring his shoulders as he accepted his newest inheritance. "What do I have to do? And what exactly is the deal you were making?"

"Ah, how refreshing!" Death said with a chuckle. "I will not be simply collecting young Riddle, Mr. Potter. He has requested a chance to minimize the damage this little war has done. A chance for the survival of your people. Naturally this comes with a price. You will be paying part of it. When you are returned to the regular flow of time the marks on every Death Eater will shift. You will be claiming not only his bloodline and house but everything and everyone Mr. Riddle had at his disposal. Your task is simple yet difficult. Use the information, resources, and power that will come with all of this to protect the magical world. As far as punishment goes for the so called Death Eaters... that is entirely up to you. You will know what actions against _your_ laws they have broken and will know how to know the truth of the matter as well as the appropriate punishment."

"When you are returned to the time flow you will immediately cast _pari ratione_ then _invito_ while thinking fiercely about everyone assembling peacefully somewhere where you will address them. There is no particular wand movement associated with them but it might help to use the Elder Wand. I suggest you do so somewhere that is still a part of the castle yet large enough to accommodate everyone from both sides." Magic suggested, mischief dancing in her eyes. "For the duration of the announcement all will remain calm and Hogwarts will assist in transmitting the information to all of magical Britain. Those who bear the dark mark will instantly be informed of the situation fully and will be required to report to you within the week or suffer not only the loss of their magic but also having to live through 6 agonizing months of being rotted from the inside out. I am not kind to those who would turn their backs on me and mine. You are our chosen representative and you will be respected as such or they will face my wrath. The magic of this will extend to any and all who make the choice to be a part of your domain. Those bearing the dark mark will automatically become your bonded servants until the day they either die or _I_ have deemed them sufficiently punished." 

Harry gulped but nodded quickly, knowing that Hermione was going to _kill_ him when she found out. Mentally he grimaced at the thought of being in charge of so many people and essentially owning a good portion of them. The look he could see in Lady Magic's eye, however brooked no argument as she continued with the explanation.

"Their marks will reflect their status. Those mostly unaltered from the dark mark except for the addition of a lightning bolt mark on the skull's forehead are the lowest and are being severely punished for one reason or another. You will know what for if you focus on the desire to know when you look at them. The other levels include complex variations that you will know instantly when you first see them. However, anyone who is truly trust worthy when it comes to you, regardless of other status, will have a gold and silver interwoven bands surrounding their right wrist. Those who qualify to guard you will have both the interwoven gold/silver bands and a gem on the inside of the right wrist. Should they betray you the gem will shatter and the wound will constantly weep blood." She finished her explanation of the marks, mentally smirking at the thought of Harry's reaction when he finally figured out that she had made him ruler of the magical world and was personally enforcing it. "Those with a simple band of color around their left wrist or a colored diamond just behind and below their right ear, depending upon personal preference, are normal free citizens under your protection and authority. _You_ will be the one to dictate status and worthiness, none of their so called blood purity nonsense. I will warn you when someone is still on punishment detail before you try to permanently alter their status."

"Why are you actually explaining when you could just implant the knowledge?" Fate asked in amusement.

"Because our little Tom will need the information for his trip... if they ever manage to gain proper control in the new timeline. I need a bit of blood for the adoption potion, my sweet." Magic informed them as she cooed over Tom. 

She ignoring said man's glower before pulling a potion out of one of her inner pockets. Smiling at him sweetly as he took the proffered knife handed to him by Death before returning it to the soul reaper. When the blood was added the potion went from perlescent blue to a violent purple. She immediately handed the potion to Harry who eyed it with distrust before shrugging and downing it before being wracked with whole body shivers for a good ten minutes. When he finally looked at her again the surprise at the palatable taste of the potion was evident on his face.

"You're well and truly committed now." Fate smirked at them, making both wizards wary at both the smirk and the realization that they had agreed without discovering the price of the agreement. "Now, when you have cast the spells and everyone is gathered make certain to spell out the situation and the fact that you wont tolerate anyone attacking anyone else over which side they were on in the war. Make a point that harassment or discrimination is not going to be tolerated. Neither Magic nor I am happy about how things have progressed so we're going to be taking a bit more interest for the next couple of centuries at minimum. Free will is still present but neither of us are willing to sit by and do nothing when so many of our favorite mortals are hurting. Feel free to explain that the way they forced you to fight for them actually brought them to being one step from loosing _all_ magic. I think that's everything?"

"I can not think of anything." Death said thoughtfully. "Or at least nothing that either of you didn't already specify as a surprise. Magic?"

"Hmm, nope. Can't think of anything." The raven haired beauty practically purred. 

Smirking at the thought of how she had healed Snape and assigned him as Harry's personal permanent body guard, with the additional requirement of the two of them actually getting to know one another. With a sharp nod to herself she unfroze time and disappeared with Fate, Death, and Voldemort. Leaving Harry with a splitting headache from the information download, standing there alone with a confused battle field and castle to take care of, not to mention an entire society to sort out...


	2. The Graveyard

Tom Marvolo Riddle was being wrenched backward in time as he forcefully tried to keep his stomach on the _inside_ of what he thought was his body. He didn't know when or where he would arrive and he mentally cursed himself for not getting the full deal spelled out before agreeing to it, even if he thought he was simply agreeing with the explanation and the knowledge of the possible results. A light laugh next to his ear made him aware of the fact that he was not alone on his wrenching trip a moment before he _slammed_ into his previously conjured body in the graveyard. 

The body, just stepping from the cauldron, stumbled and screamed. Wormtail very nearly soiled himself believing that the had screwed up the ritual and very shortly was going to die. Harry flinched backwards into the statue holding him, terrified for himself and a painful echo resonating in both his scar and his heart for how much agony the creature before him must be in. A moment later Voldemort wrestled his reactions back under control as the pain faded, the only sounds remaining that of distressed hissing from a nearby Nagini and ragged breathing from the resurrected dark lord.

"Are...are you alright?" Harry asked tentatively, causing the serpentine man to look up at him, ruby eyes dulled with both physical and mental pain.

"Just a moment." Voldemort rasped out as he mentally sorted through the new memories as the bargain practically _burned_ in his mind and newly created flesh.

"Master?" Wormtail asked hesitantly and was ignored.

"Damn." Voldemort muttered as he forced himself back to his feet and considered the scene before him, comparing it to what his new memories showed him would be the outcome. Nagini approached him cautiously and after a careful serpentine examination settled herself at his feet hissing contentedly. He didn't even bother to inspect his new body, being able to _remember_ it exactly.

"What happened?" Harry asked cautiously, deciding that there probably was less to fear since the man? wasn't currently trying to kill him.

"What happened is that I made a deal and they dumped me back into a technically younger version of myself instead of letting me try and talk him out of doing something stupid. Or rather my memories got a rather vivid update through the end of your seventh year and my probable death. I can choose to follow that path again, which will only end in disaster for all of us, or I can try to work on something different." Voldemort explained tiredly as he ran his newly formed hand over his rather bald head. "Either way you'll be glad to know that killing you is no longer something that I can afford to contemplate and unless you adore your muggle relatives you aren't going to be seeing them again any time soon. Though, I suppose I could always kidnap them for you to visit or some such."

" _No_ ," Harry said with such venom he drew an odd look from the resurrected dark lord and an astonished one from the rat animagus. Nagini simply gave a hissy chuckle tasting the bouquet of emotions that rather unusual offer evoked. "I've asked not to be sent back but Professor Dumbledore wont _listen_."

"He did the same with me when I was in school for all that I expressed my displeasure with my living arrangements," Voldemort agreed with a wry tone. He watched the restrained youth speculatively, wondering why exactly the young man wouldn't want to live with his probably doting relatives. In the next moment a strand of silver light connected the two of them before fading away, confirming the presence of the Horcrux and the fact that the deal also bound the younger wizard.

"Who are you?" Harry asked curiously, conveniently forgetting his fear throughout the ritual and unable to see Cedric's body from his currently restrained position. He was doing his absolute best to ignore the idea that this really was the man from his nightmares. Lord Voldemort.

"You wont like it." Voldemort warned as he watched the younger wizard carefully.

"Story of my life," Harry muttered before asking again, a bit more warily this time. "Who are you?"

"Voldemort," The Dark Lord admitted with a sigh, hoping that the young man in front of him wouldn't overreact but not really expecting anything less. He was not disappointed as Harry began to struggle against his stone restraints in a panic. 

Voldemort just waited until the young lion had tired himself out, retrieving his wand from the sniveling rat animagus, absently flicking the same wand to cauterize Wormtail's stump, and cleaning up the mess of the ritual. By the time he was done doing a basic clean up Harry was hanging limply from his stone restraints, panting from the combined exertion of the final task, the ritual, and the repeated attempts to escape. When Harry looked at the Dark Lord he could see terror in those emerald orbs, mixed with stubbornness and a desire to live.

"Are you ready to listen?" Voldemort asked softly. Harry simply looked at the ground, saying nothing, earning a heavy sigh before the serpentine man continued. "I will presume that you are since you are not screaming that I'm a monster or that I need to let you go or some other such nonsense. The bargain I made also involves you and some of the information from my new memories is also important to you. I no longer seek your death, in fact if you need help I will gladly grant it though it may not be in the form that you desire. If the light and the ministry wish to negotiate a truce, I am willing to consider it provided _you_ are an active participant of the proceedings. There are a few other conditions if I am going to return you to Hogwarts and we are to protect the Wizarding World from what is coming." At these last words Harry's head shot up and he looked at the man in incredulity.

"So, you don't want to kill me anymore, I have to help if they want to have a truce or whatever, you want me to help protect everyone from something, and you wont even let me go if I say no to something you haven't even told me yet?" Harry's voice started out normal but ended on a near panicked squeak.

"Since I'd rather you survived intact... yes, that's about the size of it. I don't particularly care about the muggles but we can no longer afford to loose the magical blood that muggleborns and even squibs carry. Too many of them resort to living in the muggle world over the wizarding world," Voldemort agreed, watching his young captive curiously.

"I don't have much choice do I?" Harry asked morosely.

"Actually you do have a choice. You can help me with this or I can lock you away in a heavily protected manor and go from there," Voldemort offered with some mild amusement. Nagini, finally getting bored with all this talk decided to chase Wormtail for a bit, gently snapping at his heels to keep him moving and drawing Harry's morbidly interested gaze. "I will of course expect you to stay with someone of my choosing, whether that means they move in with you or you move in with them I will leave for the two of you to decide once I have chosen who will help keep you safe."

"Um, actually that might not be the best idea," Harry said carefully, unwilling to divulge how his relatives treated him at home and earning a narrow eyed look from those ruby eyes.

"I will let you think about it while I deal with some business. Wormtail! Stop playing with Nagini and come here!" Voldemort ordered, turning away from his green-eyed prisoner as Wormtail panted up to his side, making absolutely certain to be on the opposite side of the Dark Lord _away_ from the deadly magical serpent. 

The Dark Lord didn't wait for the disgusting little man to actually pay attention to him, instead he casually vanished the left sleeve of the rat's shirt and robe before quickly grabbing the same arm and pressing his wand to the dark mark. Wormtail screamed, writhing to get away from the unexpected pain before eventually slumping down at his master's feet in a sobbing mess just as the red-eyed hybrid dropped the arm. It wasn't long before they heard the pops of apparation as the Inner Circle Death Eaters that Voldemort had called arrived.

"Master," The first one murmured in shock before quickly prostrating himself at Voldemort's feet. The other's quickly followed suit with murmurs of "Master" from each of them before taking their places in a circle surrounding Harry and Voldemort, leaving room for late arrivals. Voldemort ignored the empty spaces in the circle, not really expecting anyone else to show, even if only from his new memories as he gazed thoughtfully at his returned servants.

"Lucius, go to Hogwarts and tell Severus that I have Lily's child. If he ever wants to see the young lion again he must come now, without alerting the old goat. Return with him here, neither of you is to speak of this to anyone. We will await your return, and Lucius? I do hope that my diary is intact? I will be wanting it back," Voldemort asked smoothly, earning a look filled with sudden terror from the blonde, seeing Lucius' look he sighed heavily and continued. "I take it from your reaction that the diary is gone or destroyed? Then you had best find a way to make up for its absence or I will claim it from the flesh and blood of you and your family. Don't think you can hide them from me either."

"Yes, my lord," Lucius Malfoy said meekly as he took a step back from the circle before turning and apparating away to retrieve Snape from Hogwarts.

"Why?" Harry asked, causing the Dark Lord to turn and arch a non-existent eyebrow at his captive in question, encouraging Harry to elaborate. "Why? Why try to kill me? Why kidnap me? Why tell me that you don't want me to die any more? Why is all of this happening?"

"A complicated set of questions. You will hear some of the answers you seek when Lucius and Severus arrive. For now simply be glad that I am not trying to kill you as I would have before," Voldemort answered silkily before hissing an order in Parseltongue to Nagini. "~Guard him well my lovely one. This is one hatchling we cannot loose.~" Nagini hissed her agreement and moved to coil at Harry's feet, guarding him.

"Is she protecting me or keeping me from running away?" Harry asked warily, causing a ripple of unease to pass around the circle of Death Eaters.

"A little bit of both but primarily protecting you," Voldemort answered nonchalantly, unconcerned that Harry had understood the order to his precious familiar even as he idly healed Harry's more minor wounds. After a moment's thought he decided not to risk potentially messing up the more problematic ones, like Harry's leg, knowing that Snape would have healing potions on him when he finally arrived. 

A few more minutes later and the double crack of two people apparating informed them of Lucius' success. Snape hadn't even bothered to try and get his old Death Eater robes and mask before following his long time friend. The white around his mouth was the only thing that showed the potion master's concern and rage as to the situation. Both men bowed to their master with trepidation, murmuring what appeared to be the common greeting of "Master" before moving to take their places in the circle. At the same moment the Dark Lord murmured anti-apparation and anti-portkey wards into existence, trapping them all there and earning more than a few confused looks, his eyes never leaving the newest arrivals.

"My return is not something that any of you expected, but thanks to an agreement I made I have memories of a different timeline until the moment of my death. Severus, you have a choice, explain why you choose the old man over me and pledge to me anew or face the consequences of your betrayal," Voldemort ordered softly, almost kindly, earning a suddenly angry defiant look from the Potions Master even as the Dark Lord cast an unnoticed silencing spell at Harry. 

"You killed Lily," Snape accused softly, not even bothering to deny the implications of their master's words as his eyes flashed in sudden fury as the others watched his legendary control shatter in stunned silence. "You promised to spare her, yet when I arrived she was dead on the floor."

"She refused to move for all that I offered three or four times, at your own request, continually offering her own life if I would spare the child. Which was impossible at the time." Voldemort explained, his face blank of all emotion, ignoring the deer-in-the-headlights look the dour man was receiving from his young green-eyed captive. "I honored your request, more than honored it. Only the woman's stubbornness to protect her son from the threat I posed stopped her from surviving that night. You need no longer protect her child from me. I no longer wish him dead. In fact, partly due to that very night and partly due to the agreement I mentioned and the memories I received as a result I want him very much alive."

"Then why did you try to kill him a few years ago? Or was he just _in the way_?" Snape asked bitterly before breaking down a bit and falling to his knees sobbing. "Why her? Why _Lily_?"

"Because her son could very well match my own power and I had used the wrong magics one to many times to try and complete what I saw as my mission. As a result I wasn't exactly sensible about the situation when you brought me the prophecy fragment. I also did not have the extra years of memories which would have shown me my folly," Voldemort informed him softly, gently. The rest of the Death Eaters simply stood there in a stunned and uncertain silence, trying to reconcile what they were seeing with what they remembered. Harry simply watched the drama play out with wide green eyes, silencing spell still active, very much feeling like a small child for all that he was nearly 15.

"Severus, I will give you the same chance I am giving everyone else. Return to my service and the past wrongs since my fall will be mostly forgotten," Voldemort offered softly, completely ignoring the gapping look that Harry was giving him. "This is a new start. I will even go a step further for your past service and for my own failure to grant the previous boon. I will grant you a single boon, ask of me anything that is reasonably within my power, even walking away without consequences with your final service merely observing tonight's events."

Everyone was pole-axed by Voldemort's offer. Even Nagini looked at him oddly before tasting the air and issuing a hissy chuckle, gleeful that her hatchling no longer tasted of insanity, rage, desperation, and death. The serpent decided that whatever had happened to heal her hatchling so much was more than worth it. She could practically taste the fact that his soul was now very nearly whole, and instinctively knew that only two of his special treasures remained and she was one of them. From the scents she was getting off of this new hatchling she was guarding he was the other.

"The boy," Severus rasped out, not even bothering to try and hide the raw emotions in his voice from where he knelt in the grass. "I want Potter. I want Lily's child."

"Why would you want me? _Nobody_ wants me. I'm just a burden and a freak," Harry asked bewildered, his accidental magic breaking the silencing spell in response to his shock. His words drawing everyone's attention to him even as Voldemort's eyes narrowed in sudden suspicion. The Dark Lord's genius mind worked over time with the clues he had been previously unable to notice, for all that he remembered them, and use in his insanity.

"I will assign you as Harry's bodyguard and preferably guardian, if you can safely obtain the guardianship. If needed, once my affairs are again in order, I will provide a stipend to help you with your task. You may receive help and I want it known that the boy not only is not at fault for my fall but is in fact under my protection. It will be up to the two of you if you wish to try and return to Hogwarts. If you choose to do so, I will require a few magical oaths from both you and Potter," Voldemort said slowly, thoughtfully eyeing his young wizard captive, ignoring the quiet mutterings that Harry's bewildered comment had set off. "I would prefer that you both remain with me but judging from both sets of memories I may not actually be able to hold him. He has the damnedest luck and a knack for getting out of situations, one way or another."

"Th-thank you," Snape stuttered in astonishment, not having actually expected to be told yes, much less offered support in taking custody of Lily's child, the downfall of the Dark Lord. Voldemort waved his thanks away as he watched the shifting expressions on Harry's face, shifting through astonishment, wonder, apprehension, curiosity, and worry.

"There are a few other requirements but I have no doubt that they can be easily fulfilled but... yes," Voldemort agreed reluctantly. He _really_ didn't want to return Harry to the tender care of _Dumbledore_ in any way shape or form. The Headmaster's actions over the years had erroded his trust in the man beyond repair. "Remain behind, as for the rest of you I want the word quietly spread that I am back, I am sane, and that in my absence I have found more information to aid in our mission that will necessarily change how we protect ourselves and magic. When next I summon you I want you to be able to report on what has happened since my fall. I am willing to be more understanding but I will not tolerate challenge or disrespect. Bringing an option or information to my attention is one thing challenging my authority or disrespecting me is something altogether different. I trust that you all know the difference. For the next few years we will remain as much in the shadows as possible while accomplishing our goals."

Just as he was wrapping up his instructions is when Harry's part of the deal kicked in. The young wizard was engulfed in pure white light as he screamed in pain, writhing in the grip of the stone statue holding him in place at the head of Tom Riddle Sr.'s grave. Nagini hissed in pain, getting caught in the wash of power and tumbling away from Harry, sporting a nice large burn where her body had coiled nearest to the young wizard. Everyone else was shying away from the raw power of the magic and shielding their eyes from the glare. By the time Harry had quit screaming the light had faded into a light golden glow before finally fading away completely.

"Dammit! I thought that I would bear the brunt of the bargain!" Voldemort seethed, cursing under his breath as he quickly freed Harry from the statue's grip and checked over the now unconscious young man, cradling him carefully in his arms. 

Nagini cautiously approached, looking them both over before settling at their feet, nursing her burnt coils even as she obeyed her orders and stood guard over Harry, while her wizard tended to the hatchling. Lucius had to forcibly stop Severus from scrambling over to check on Harry himself, the potion master's self control having barely been recovered from the earlier emotional release. Only Lucius' firm grip and the dire warnings being hissed in his ear kept the dour man from simply cursing his friend and ripping the young lion from his master's grip. 

Harry moaned before cracking his eyes open to find himself staring up into Voldemort's face. He made a face at the older wizard before unconsciously burying his face into the man's bony chest, much to the shock of everyone there. A moment later they all heard the muffled half hysterical laughter interspersed by sobs as Harry assimilated his own memory and power upgrade.

"Harry?" Voldemort asked carefully, immediately causing the young wizard to tense and stifle his original reaction.

"You remember dying?" Harry asked, voice still muffled by his long time enemy's chest, trying to gauge the situation without looking.

"Yes," Voldemort said with a long suffering sigh. "I take it they decided I wouldn't be enough to change the out come?"

"Yup. They waited a few years before copying my memories and sending them to this version of me though," Harry admitted, finally lifting his head to look up tiredly into ruby eyes. "It barely took the muggles a year to find us and we lost Hogwarts for a while but we got the old girl back. We got lucky, whoever they sent to capture or destroy her fucked up. I made nearly every kind of magic legal provided they got checked out once every six months for problems. We caught a few that had already gone too deep into the more twisted forms of magic and I used them as examples before having them executed as a danger to our society. Gods Tom, you have no idea how _pissed_ some people were.... When are we?"

"The graveyard, end of the tournament, after the ritual and just before the duel, minus chewing out my people for not trying to help me get back. They decided to slam me into my younger self just as I was stepping out of the cauldron." Voldemort informed him sadly as quiet muttering started to make the rounds among those present and watching the surreal scene.

"Malfoy here?" Harry asked, the exhaustion clear in his voice.

"And Severus. I sent Lucius to get him with a word about the diary," Voldemort admitted mirthlessly.

"I take it that you got the memories from each Horcrux?" Harry concluded wryly.

"Just the diary and flashes of yours from 6th year until my death, a few arguments with your friends, Dumbledore's death, Gringotts break-in, not much more than that," Voldemort informed him, suddenly just as tired as the young man he was holding. "I congratulate you on not only breaking into Gringotts but also breaking _out_ with your prize and relatively unscathed."

"Thanks, it was mostly Hermione's idea. Malfoy! If Umbridge is our DADA teacher next year I'll castrate you! I am _not_ dealing with the damn toad and her blood quill again!" Harry called out, the venom lacing his voice was enough to silence the still watching inner circle and make Lucius swallow hard. Voldemort sighed, mentally making a note to kill this Umbridge person and wondering if this latest turn of events would make it easier or harder to fulfill the deal they had made.

"You can either stay with me, I can send you back, or we can do something entirely different," Voldemort stated quietly. "Suggestions?"

"Well, I'd rather _not_ get threatened by Barty Jr. this time around, and there's a damn good chance of us being discovered within the next 5 or 10 years so starting the war back up isn't the best idea," Harry drawled, not even bothering to try to get free of the Dark Lord's grip as he pondered the situation. "We could both just take the portkey back and explain the situation to the press before declaring a state of emergency and demanding an emergency session of the Wizengamot under our authority as heirs of the Hogwarts founders. Whatever we do our entire society needs to be restructured, _fast_."

"Agreed. Can you stand on your own yet?" Voldemort asked with wry amusement, deciding that they had likely terrified his inner circle with their strange behavior.

"Yeah. You know Dumbledore is going to be a pain in the arse about all of this," Harry commented as Voldemort carefully helped him stand upright before gently releasing him.

"When has he ever not been?" Voldemort asked pointedly, earning a snort of amusement from the teenager.

"Ah, fuck! I have to go back to the Dursleys!" Harry cursed, swaying slightly before steadying and deciding to lean against the nice solid statue that had been keeping him prisoner just a few minutes ago. "And I'm 14 again! Stupid underage magic laws and _hormones_!"

"About that, the younger version of you declined when I offered to kidnap your relatives so that you could visit, care to explain why you said that no one wants you?" Voldemort asked archly.

"Um, nope?" Harry offered hopefully, only to earn a flat, ruby-eyed, disbelieving look from the current Dark Lord. "No matter how much I hate them, they _are_ family."

"Stubborn brat," Voldemort said in exasperation. "Don't think this is the end of the discussion."

"As if! You're too good at finding out secrets," Harry remarked dryly, closing his eyes for a moment, exhaustion and experience carving new lines in his face, prematurely aging him a few more years. "By the way, making me your heir helped a hell of a lot. I managed to save maybe half of our people. I know that if I'd had to do it without those resources we would have lost more. We had a cease-fire in place when they opted to copy my memories. One good thing about loosing so many was that everyone else had to admit that muggles are more dangerous than everyone had been led to believe. I even managed to make muggle education or living with someone muggle raised a requirement, which saved a _lot_ of people during the first couple years of fighting. We still lost a lot of the old family lines and houses to those first attacks."

"We'll have to try and avoid being discovered at all but I find it unlikely that they wont find us eventually," Voldemort admitted with a deep sigh. "You're also to avoid getting hurt and nearly dying. The Horcrux and your magic can only heal so much damage, brat."

"Fine, but can we go somewhere more comfortable? Somewhere I can have a nap and deal with this damn giant spider bite?" Harry pleaded, using his best puppy dog eyes even as he started to sway on his feet again. "We can send Cedric's body back with the portkey, if we aren't going to use it and go public and I can always talk Rita Skeeter into covering an interview with us if I have too. Though we'll probably need to threaten or blackmail her so that she doesn't sensationalize the article too much."

"What spider bite?" Voldemort demanded, looking him up and down again worriedly.

"The one on my leg. Hagrid provided an Acromantula for the maze just before you could get to the cup," Harry explained in a long suffering tone. "It only looks like a large gash because only one pincer, fang, whatever sliced into my leg and whatever moving plants made up the hedges got a good grip on me while I was fighting the spider. I had honestly forgotten that it ripped open my leg until you helped me stand up."

"Severus, do you have anything that could treat his leg? It was one of the few injuries that I didn't try to heal." Voldemort asked, half explaining, half apologetic. 

Snape shook off Lucius' grip, hurrying over and finally indulging in his urge to examine Harry for damage even as he roughly poured the antidote to the venom down the Gryffindor's throat before making him sit down in the grass. The potions master muttered under his breath about stubborn, impossible Gryffindors and cursed himself for literally _asking_ for the brat. He rather hoped that with everything going on that the green-eyed menace wouldn't remember Snape asking to keep the young lion but he honestly didn't think his luck was any where near that good.

"Where did you hide the ring Horcrux? I need the stone in the ring," Harry asked out of the blue, startling Snape as he tried to feed the younger man another potion and earning a narrow eyed glare from Voldemort. "What? You're acting sane so something must have happened to put your soul back together and I need the stone. Besides if I wait until Dumbledore finds it I'll never get it away from him. He never took it off even while the ring was killing him. Snape barely slowed down the curse the first time around."

"Why?" Voldemort asked shrewdly, wondering if he should be worried since he could feel his mostly whole soul and the two soul shards in Nagini and Harry respectively.

"If I tell you then you wont give it to me and I still need to get the wand away from Dumbledore to make it work," Harry grumbled, that's when it clicked in Voldemort's mind.

"The resurrection stone," Voldemort stated, his flat voice liberally laced with disbelief. "Why should I give you the _resurrection stone_? You already have the invisibility cloak."

"Think of it this way, as long as we're interesting they're less likely to cancel the deal and more likely to actually help us," Harry pointed out, ignoring Snape's scowl even as the man gently pushed him flat in the grass.

"Stop moving and lay _still_ ," Snape hissed at him, fed up with Harry's attempts to stay mobile for all that he had _asked_ for medical treatment. "I need to treat you before he changes his mind!"

"You'd best obey him. He asked for you and I said yes," Voldemort remarked idly, his eyes dancing with mischief as he watched Snape try to treat the stubborn young man.

"Wonderful! How am I going to explain all of this?" Harry practically spat in exasperation even as he obeyed the potions master, meekly submitting to the rest of the examination and treatment.

"We'll figure something out," Voldemort told him, amusement echoing clearly in his voice.

"Did you become any _less_ of a trouble magnet once you reached your majority?" Severus demanded, deciding to believe the situation for the moment and practically hissing at the younger wizard in his frustration. Harry on the other hand blushed and wouldn't meet the man's eye, earning a snort of barely contained laughter from Voldemort and a despairing look toward the sky from the potions master before he abruptly came to a decision. "Right, from now on you aren't going anywhere without me, even if I have to become a bloody animagus and follow you everywhere to do it!"

"But!" Harry protested only to have a potion stained finger pressed to his lips to silence him.

"No buts. I don't care if you're 15 or 50! This _will_ happen, if only so that I don't have to scrape your sorry arse off the floor or ceiling or wall somewhere before being forced to inform _Molly Weasley_ that your recklessness got you _killed_. I _will_ teach you self preservation and reasonable risk taking if its the last thing I bloody well do!" Severus snarled at the wide eyed brat he was still tending to, who in turn nodded his head rapidly, deciding that if he had to he could argue with the older man later.

"No, of course you don't care," Lucius said sarcastically, earning his own obsidian glare from the still irate potions master, before the Malfoy Lord sighed in exasperation and explained. "Sev, the last time I saw you act like this it was over the boy's mother when the Whomping Willow nearly hit her. Quit trying to keep your distance and simply adopt the boy! It will make all of our lives easier and no one will be able to stop you from doing what you've clearly been itching to do."

"Prat," Snape shot back sulkily before examining Harry one last time and finally turning to look at Voldemort. It took him a moment for the situation and how he had acted to sank in, causing the man to watch the Dark Lord warily as he hovered protectively over Harry, ensuring as best he could that he was between the two of them. The dour man mentally berated himself for letting his guard down even for a moment. He was lucky they both weren't dead... yet.

Voldemort had watched the whole scenario in amusement, relishing in the nearly forgotten sense of relaxation that two of his favorites were giving off. Nagini was still coiled near his feet, watching the events carefully in case someone presented a danger to either her master or her newest hatchling. Harry just decided that he would deal with the extra weirdness later, enjoying the show in the mean time for all that it felt strange to be fussed over by _Snape_ of all people. 

Then a few pieces of information came together in Harry's mind allowing him to look at Snape with new eyes. This was the man who had _asked_ a potentially insane, homicidal Dark Lord for him and been teased by someone who knew him well for a lack of adopting him. Merlin, what the hell was going on? Yes, he had finally managed to get along, after a fashion, with the man in the original time line but still!

"Why?" Harry asked quietly, making a point of meeting Snape's eyes as the man glanced back towards him in a brief visual check.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Potter," Severus muttered, quickly returning his gaze to their surroundings and the potential threat that the others still represented.

"Why did you ask for me? You hate me, and everyone else only wants my fame, not _me_. So, why?" Harry asked, his tone soft yet loud enough to carry to the others. Voldemort watched quietly, wondering how the potions master would answer.

"Don't worry your head about it," Snape told him uncomfortably, refusing to look at his charge, still laying flat on the ground for the moment. Looking at the two of them Voldemort made his decision on what they would do next.

"You are dismissed and you all know what to do until I next call. Severus, if you are unwilling to let him walk then carry him. The three of us will be returning to Hogwarts with the other boy's body using the cup," Voldemort informed them, silently taking down the anti-apparation and anti-portkey wards he had placed earlier to keep Snape from trying to run.

"Wait! If we take Wormtail with us then I don't have to stay with the Dursleys!" Harry informed him quickly, earning a flat look from Voldemort. A sound of frustrated disgust came from Snape as the man picked the Gryffindor up off the ground, not even bothering to ask if he wanted to walk.

"Why would I give you to _Black_ on a silver platter? A man who is not only a decent dueler but also deep in Dumbledore's pocket? Simply getting you away from the muggles, while an understandable ambition, is not enough reason to put you at risk. Especially if the old fool decides that you need to be more... agreeable to his suggestions. I need an actual reason to take the risk that Dumbledore will try something with you," Voldemort informed him flatly just as the last Death Eater disapparated, leaving the four of them, Voldemort, Harry, Snape, and Wormtail, alone. 

In response Harry clenched his jaw shut and refused to look at any of them. Snape could feel the building tension in the young man's body as if he were ready to bolt rather than have to spend time with his relatives. This confused the dour man even as he instinctively tightened his grip to both steady and lightly restrain the body in his arms.

"Potter, you have yet to talk to Severus about the situation," Voldemort commented almost carelessly as he grabbed Snape's arm, rested his foot on Cedric's body and summoned the Cup to them, whisking the trio away onto the grounds of Hogwarts, right in front of the table of Judges.


	3. Mission Statement

The entire audience including the judges were shocked into silence by the arrival of the group with two of the four champions clearly incapacitated alongside of two unrecognized wizards. A moment later everyone who had attended or worked at Hogwarts for the last 13 years recognized Professor Snape and no one could mistake the limp bundle he carried dress in the champion robes red and black. Almost no one noticed Cedric, lying on the ground at their feet until his father gave a cry and tried to get to him, being held back by his wife and distant cousin. The judges were seen to be very obviously shocked yet quickly drawing their wands and standing to approach the small group.

"Who are you? And what have you done to my student?" Dumbledore demanded, quickly standing up from behind the table and approaching the small group. He didn't see Cedric's body until he was practically on top of them. When he did see the body his eyes quickly grew cold as he eyed them with suspicion, wand clenched tightly in his hand.

"Why, Headmaster, don't you recognize me? I admit that I've had a bit of a make over since we last saw each other but its still me," Voldemort said calmly, almost tauntingly all the while ignoring the wands pointed in their direction. He could feel Nagini loosening from where she had wrapped around his leg under his robes for the trip and sliding to a more comfortable location at his feet, yet still hidden from view by the cloth.

"Why couldn't they have sent us back _before_ the ritual? Then Cedric wouldn't have had to die again." Harry muttered loud enough for everyone nearby to hear, still hanging a bit limply in Snape's arms.

"Because then I would be without a body, or are you forgetting that one of the key ingredients in that ritual was _blood of the enemy, forcibly taken_? We still had to _be_ enemies for that to work. We're lucky they agreed to the deal at all, much less sent us back to a point where we can do some good." Voldemort retorted, eyes never leaving Dumbledore's face as the man tried to work out who he was.

"~Look just put on a glamour of your original face and be done with it. I'm tired and I want some food before I go to bed. You know he's going to be a git about everything any way,~" Harry hissed at the ruby-eyed serpentine Dark Lord standing next to them. Idly the sable haired youth noticed that his fellow memory traveler didn't have any shoes on, and wondered why he hadn't at least conjured some to wear.

"~That's hardly the point,~" Voldemort hissed back chidingly, earning wide eyed looks for the pair of them. Upon hearing Parseltongue being spoken, Dumbledore's features took on a grim cast as he shifted into a dueling stance. The Dark Lord noticed and gave an evil little chuckle as he turned back to face his old teacher with an off-hand comment designed to rile the man. "So, how's my little curse on the defense position turning out? Managed to keep anyone yet?"

"You utter bastard! We always suspected, but really Tom? That damn curse caused a hell of a lot of problems, and linking it to the wards was just plain nasty," Harry complained, giving a harsh laugh that turned into a coughing fit that brought up spots of blood. 

Snape swore, kneeling down and dropping Harry's legs in favor of frantically scrambling about in his robes for his emergency potions kit. Upon finding it he poured a blood replenisher down the brat's throat, followed quickly by a few that Harry couldn't identify at a glance even with his new memories. Voldemort had turned his back on the group of judges upon hearing Snape swearing to watch in concern even as he helped hold Harry steady for him to drink the new potions. Nagini quickly slithered out from under her master's robes and coiled herself very obviously between the three wizards and everyone else, hissing at the approaching figures menacingly. She protected them from being mobbed by the shear dint of her size and obviously dangerous hostility, snapping her jaws at one man who got just a bit too close.

"Must have done some damage when I fought the Acromantula and it dropped me," Harry scowled thoughtfully, secretly pleased that both wizards cared enough to try and heal him first rather than waste time playing head games with Dumbledore. A dark expression briefly flitted across his face as he remembered Dumbledore time and again delaying, interrupting, or even stopping any medical treatment he needed in order to get information out of Harry just that bit faster. As a result he wasn't really surprised when the man tried to do just that a moment later.

"Severus, bring Harry over here. I think we need a better idea of what's going on before anything can be decided," Dumbledore ordered, in a moment becoming the steely battle hardened wizard that Harry recalled from the first time this all had happened and Barty Jr. was discovered practically threatening Harry.

"No, fire me if you like but I will no longer obey your orders over the oath I gave," Snape said harshly, continuing to sort through the potions and occasionally feeding one to Harry.

"That mark on your arm..." Dumbledore began just as harshly only to be interrupted by a derisive snort.

"I was referring to the _Vow_ that _you_ forced me into the night _Lily_ died old man! You did quite the job convincing me to leave his care to your machinations. _No More!_ " Snape practically snarled at the older man as he completed the check of his charge and gently finished setting him down before smoothly turning in his crouch and flowing up into a dueling position, returned wand dropping into his hand as he moved. "You honestly thought that no one would notice the way you keep oblivating and otherwise compelling _Poppy_? Potter is not a soldier, not a weapon. He is a _child_!"

"I'm not sure I ever was one actually. What with how my relatives treat me, how everyone but Snape seems to treat me.... Nope, haven't qualified as a child since I was around 2 and that's in both sets of memories," Harry muttered musingly, just loud enough to be heard and for the recording spells that kicked in late to pick up and let the entire audience hear. The background noise of the audience suddenly died down bringing everyone's attention to the fact that they _were_ in front of an audience.

"I arrived with the intent to arrange a treaty or a truce between the Light and the Dark factions of our world. Your response tells me that you at least _want_ another war. If Lady Magic had not warned us that she is about ready to recall _all_ magics and instructed the two of us to fix this I might even have let you. It would have given me a chance at taking my own vengeance for the way you continually harassed me and put me in danger as a student simply because I was a Slytherin." Voldemort said calmly, rage burning in his eyes as he fought with himself _not_ to curse the stupid old man.

"At least we got a few extra sets of memories out of the deal... Fuck this, Tom would you at least remove the curse you put on the Defense position so that I don't have to be the one to train everyone... again," Harry asked plaintively as he started to droop in exhaustion only for Snape to toss a pepper up into his lap without looking which he greatfully downed before dragging himself to his feet and drawing his own wand.

"My boy..." Dumbledore started only to be interrupted again.

"I am not your _boy_. I know exactly what you planned to do to me. Hell, I lived it! Do you know how much it _hurts_ to be forced to first die and then go about killing someone else? To have to watch as nearly all of your friends and family die in battle over something so stupid as blood purity? I do. I have the memories from that timeline. I now know exactly what the side effects are from the night my parents died and I will no longer be a puppet to your whims, Whims that are _killing_ magic its self!" Harry shot back heatedly, trying not to sway on his feet even as he glared at the elderly Headmaster. "Even without the new memories, do you have any idea the absolute _hell_ that you've put me through?"

"I'm afraid that I don't know..." Dumbledore began before being cut off again by Harry.

"No, you don't know, not really, or at least you don't want anyone to think that you have the faintest idea. If you do truly know then you are one sick fuck to keep sending me back and arranging all of these little deadly tests every bloody year! At least _Tom_ doesn't torment children like this, purposefully molding them so that they can simply _die_ at the right bloody time! Even when he was insane the only child he really went after was me and _that_ can once again be laid at _your_ feet. Everybody else he and his people killed were actual _**threats**!_ Not to mention _Adults!_ " Harry chewed him out, letting go of much of the anger he had been taught over the years was to be directed only at himself. 

Voldemort quietly slipped up behind the angry and distressed Gryffindor before gently pulling him backward to rest against his chest. The Horcrux in Harry's scar and the effects of the magical deal allowing him to feel safe as his parents' killer pulled him into a gentle backwards hug. Cradling Harry in warmth and the man's own magic and soothing the younger wizard's temper even as a now very agitated Nagini kept everyone back, protecting all three. Voldemort glared at them over the top of Harry's head. He used the presence of the young man in his arm as a way to keep his own temper even as he soothed Harry's equally strong agitation, mentally reminding himself to pursue this topic properly later with both Severus and Harry.

"Our memories were copied into our younger bodies for a very good reason. It is unfortunate that Mr. Diggory was already dead at that point but I can assure you that none of those present are responsible for his death for all that my wand was used to cast the spell," Voldemort informed them all in a quiet deadly tone. He ignored the quiet snide comments that Harry was making under his breath in parseltongue as he continued to address everyone. "One side effect from the deal that was struck was that the timelines would split, and that both I and Mr. Potter would be paying the heaviest price individually. The effects of the deal and our return to this time are still manifesting but we were given a very clear warning by Lady Magic herself and entrusted with fixing a rather large problem in our society. Failure will result in everyone being stripped of their magic and anyone with even a single drop of human blood loosing the right to wield magic until we are deemed to have learned our lesson. With a very few exceptions, of which I am not aware, this will apply to everyone across the entire planet, including those who believe that they are muggle but actually wield a different type of magic. Congratulations, you've all nearly killed magic."

The deadly silence accompanying the white faces that engulfed the field was dispelled only a moment later by a cry from Fawkes who dove at the small group before circling them singing jubilantly. The Phoenix eventually settled at Harry's feet crooning softly and rubbing his head against the now softly smiling Gryffindor's leg. The next thing that drew everyone's attention was the Sphinx leaving the maze being sedately followed by the other creatures that had also been placed within its confines. An arrow suddenly landed at the feet of the judges as the entire centaur herd and Acromantula colony, obviously under a temporary truce, left the forbidden forest and approached the gathering of wizards. The Sphinx and a single centaur came forward as representatives for all that so many intelligent magical beings had arrived.

"Lord of the Dark, Lord of the Light, we greet you with glad tidings. It has been long since the last true lords of magic were called by the Great Lady, and even longer since they have been given such a great task," The sphinx practically purred, giving a slight bow to Harry and Voldemort. 

"Mars is bright tonight but its hue has taken on an older, more protective cast. In a time past and a time yet to come we would have stood with the young serpent speaker had he but asked," The centaur commented almost lightly. This caused Harry to blush in embarrassment and curse his own stupidity along with everything he had been taught about not trusting or even approaching anyone who wasn't purely human. He was blushing so hard that he _knew_ Voldemort, the red-eyed bastard, could _feel_ the heat from his skin through Harry's clothes.

"And now?" Voldemort was quick to ask even as he mentally smirked at being able to feel Harry's blush.

"Now there is even more at risk. Lords of Magic, I offer you this, should both true Lords fall all will be lost, to help avert this we of the forbidden forest offer you aid and succor from this moment onward until such time as the threat is no longer a threat. Both my herd and the Acromantula colony grant protection to any of your young that enter our territory until the time of the world's death, with the understanding that any who threaten that will die, regardless of maturity." The centaur told them seriously, completely ignoring the gobsmacked officials.

"Just to clarify, who is the Lord of the Dark and who is the Lord of the Light?" Dumbledore asked quickly, really hoping that they wouldn't call Voldemort as either of them but expecting him to be identified as the Lord of the Dark anyway.

"Currently, Harry James Potter is the Lord of the Dark, just as Tom Marvolo Riddle is the Lord of the Light," The centaur informed him, looking at the Headmaster as if he were stupid. "Of course in this rather unusual case the titles are actually interchangeable, both of them qualify for both titles. Mr. Riddle attained mastery of the darker magics the usual way, while Mr. Potter has been granted the same mastery in a way we can not fully discern and may hold mastery in areas that you mortals have long forgotten. Whether they choose to associate themselves with one title or another it does not change the fact that both are Lords of Magic, easily on par with Myrridan Emrys, whom you call Merlin, and Morrigan Le Fay. We honor the Lords of Magic as we always have and by the Lady's direction we offer greater aid as needed."

"Fuck, of course I can't even _pretend_ to be normal in this timeline," Harry groused, ignoring the shocked expressions of every human he could see. Then something occurred to him causing him to check his magic levels and shrug before tossing a silent _Expelliarmus_ at Dumbledore, neatly disarming the man. The Elder wand easily flew into his out stretched hand and glowed slightly, signaling the change in allegiance. "Can I have the stone _now_?"

"No," Voldemort told him irritably even as he cuddled the smaller man closer, ignoring the odd looks they were getting. "Are you ever going to ask Severus what his plans are for the summer or are you simply going to try and bulldoze over anyone who tries to force you to go back to your relatives?"

"Uh, lets see I can be kidnapped by you, I can allow the old goat to try and send me back, I can run away, I can ask Hogwarts to hide me. What else? I can petition the muggle government to charge the wizarding world with reckless endangerment and... actually I think the entire wizarding world could be tried for treason," Harry said thoughtfully, his brow furrowing as he mentally went over a good deal of the legal tangles that he had to deal with in the other timeline. "Unless the Ministry has a standing treaty with the British government every single magical being living in the United Kingdom is in violation of a hell of a lot of laws. Oh, and every magical adult who dealt with a muggleborn could conceivably be charged with aiding and abetting kidnapping if it was presented right..."

"You still have to discuss it with Severus," Voldemort pointed out dryly.

"Youngling aside from your assigned task are you even aware of your duties as a Lord of Magic?" The sphinx asked in soft amusement.

"Um, no? Everyone has purposefully kept me in the dark since I lost my parents. In the other timeline I found myself in charge of _everything_ with absolutely no knowledge on even my basic Lordship duties after agreeing to go along with the deal this idiot made," Harry told them jerking his thumb at the red-eyed man standing behind him who just rolled his eyes in an exasperated response. "Less than a year later we were discovered by the muggles because some idiot decided that they didn't need to know about basic advancements in muggle technology. He had refused to attend the remedial courses I set up for everyone. End result? More than half of the wizarding population was dead within 5 years and I'd only just managed to get a cease fire in place before they decided to copy my memories and send them back. My body might be 14 but my mind is closer to 23. Its not like making me participate in the tournament didn't declare me an adult any way."

The speechless looks of shock from most people and the angry glare he was getting from Dumbledore made him both sad and wanting to hide in a small dark place somewhere. That's when Luna skipped up, easily by-passing Nagini still in protective mode and gave Harry a light kiss on the cheek before cheerfully sitting down at his feet and petting Fawkes.

"Uh, Luna? What are you doing?" Harry asked carefully, remembering from the first timeline how disturbingly accurate her comments tended to be if put into the correct context.

"I'm your first minion and designated Seer," The flighty blond informed him dreamily. "Don't worry too much, most of the Weasleys and Hermione are still loyal. Ginny might be a problem even though she's loyal. Molly has promised her that she is going to marry you."

"I'm starting to think that we're going to have to deal with far more than what they bothered to explain to us," Voldemort commented, a feeling of dread having settled heavily into his gut.

"Just a second. Luna? Did you volunteer or were you actually assigned, and if so by whom?" Harry asked carefully, trusting the Ravenclaw to answer honestly. "And what is this about Ginny?"

"Does it matter?" She asked lightly before leaning against Harry's leg the same way that Fawkes was and appearing to fall asleep. Completely ignoring his question about Ginny.

"That does _not_ bode well," Harry muttered worriedly as he sagged a bit, suddenly reminded of all he had been through that day, despite the normal effects of the pepper up potion Snape had tossed him.

"First stop is going to have to be Gringotts or somewhere we can sleep. Second is whichever we didn't do first. Third is claiming our rightful inheritance. _Then_ we get to call an emergency Wizengamott meeting and explain all of this to them." Voldemort muttered, as he eyed the group of judges and representatives that Nagini was doing an admirable job keeping at bay.

"You will not be leaving here with my student!" Dumbledore practically thundered, angry magic practically rolling off of him in waves.

"Like I'm willing to stay here with you, after the way you've all been treating me? Not a chance," Harry drawled with a snort of disgust before leaning further back against his once arch nemesis, brooding.

"~Perhaps we should tell them about the soul bond?~" Voldemort suggested, some how managing to convey laughter in the hissing tones of parseltongue.

"~Soul bond? What soul bond?~" Harry hissed back, obviously startled as he tried to look over his shoulder at the other man.

"~Come now, you didn't really think that nothing would happen when you've harbored a piece of my very soul since barely a year old? There is a very good reason that the only way to remove the shard behind your scar is to kill you.~" Voldemort hissed back nearly gleeful as his own mind worked through even more of the possibilities. He ignored the way that Nagini whipped around to stare at the pair in her own version of shock. "~Harry, the piece of my soul has merged with yours, becoming a part of it. We now share a soul bond. We _must_ be in each others lives in some fashion or the side effects... well, they aren't really known because of how unique the situation is except that it will be unpleasant for the both of us, possibly even deadly. On top of the soul bond we are bound by the deal as well. No, my little lion, you'll not be rid of me anytime soon.~"

"~Hatchling is master's mate? Why did you not tell me?!~" Nagini hissed in a perfectly aggrieved tone before turning back towards the other wizards trying to sneak close and do something to her three wizards, quickly snapping her jaws at someone that got just a bit too close for comfort. Her comment caused Harry to nearly panic, forcing Voldemort to try and calm down the young man in his arms as both Fawkes and Luna weighed down his legs in an attempt to help.

"~Calm down. The bond hasn't decided what form to take yet since we haven't spent any quality time together. It could just as easily form as a deep friendship bond, a parent-child bond, or a sibling bond. The lovers or mate bond is actually quite a bit more rare and doesn't manifest any where near as often.~" Voldemort soothed in a smooth hissing tone, before switching back to English and addressing the officials again. "I quite agree with him, staying here really isn't an option. Dumbledore has, on more than one occasion, purposefully interfered with our soul bond in an attempt to get Harry to kill me since for the bond to form in the first place we must at least equal each other in power. The bond hasn't even decided what form it will be taking since the old fool keeps meddling and trying to get us to kill each other. His attempts even actually worked in the other timeline, but not this time. This time we're aware of how important we are to one another, even if Harry hadn't realized the circumstances actually warranted the presence of a soul bond until a moment ago."

"You can't be serious..." Severus said faintly, staring at both of them in shock before bringing up his free hand to rub his temple as he began to mentally curse himself for being seven different kinds of fool for _choosing_ to take on this mess. Everyone else on the other hand was alternately looking at them in shock and awe, or glaring at Dumbledore. No one had even noticed how silent and pale Karkaroff had become, nor did they realize that Voldemort was keeping him from fleeing through the mark on the man's arm and the magical oath that came with it.

"Igor, your actions have lost you my protection. I will not pursue you, in part because I will have enough on my plate to deal with. You no longer have the right to bear my mark. ~traitor's arm, burn and blacken, mordesmere~" Voldemort put more than a little power behind the hissed command to the mark on the man's arm, watching impassively as Karkaroff gritted his teeth and tried not to whimper from the pain. The skin of his left arm would resemble blackened crusty flesh of the newly charred 3rd degree burn until the day he died.

"Was that really necessary?" Harry asked, annoyance clear in his voice.

"Considering he willingly got more than one person killed? Yes," Voldemort shot back. "Severus, please collect anything you deem important from your quarters that you do not trust a house elf with. We will be leaving shortly."

"He wont let me. If there's even a chance to leash me again Dumbledore will take it. From what I can tell he has been enjoying having a personal Potions Master at his beck and call, kept in line by threats and guilt trips," Severus informed Voldemort with a disdainful drawl aimed at the furious blue-eyed old man currently lacking his customary twinkle. "If I must I can ask a mutual acquaintance for a copy of their picture of Lily so that I have _something_ of what I value."

Harry opened his mouth to say that Snape shouldn't be throwing everything away just to keep an eye on him but Voldemort clamped a hand over his mouth before he could speak, hissing a warning in his ear.

"~He made his choice, don't dishonor it by saying anything against that choice.~" The soft parseltongue practically whispered its way into Harry's ear and Voldemort's hand moved back to its previous position when Harry nodded his understanding.

"I'd like to speak with Harry without your presence, Tom," Dumbledore said darkly, trying his best to keep his temper in check at the very obvious destruction of all his plans and the loss of the Elder wand.

"No," Voldemort shot back practically radiating defiance and protectiveness, mentally putting the protectiveness down to the fact that Harry was carrying a piece of his soul even though he had _never_ felt this protective of his Horcruxes before. He noted that Barty Jr., still posing as Moody, was currently perfectly positioned to curse the old fool in the back if the need arose, magical eye fixed firmly on the two Lords of Magic.

"Interference of a soul bond is a serious accusation Mr.. Riddle was it?" Mr Bagman spluttered, trying to gain some semblance of control again.

"You guys know him better as Voldemort," Harry informed them with a bored tone, ignoring the low level panic that immediately started up as most of the officials went corpse white.

"I made a few mistakes in my youth when dealing with certain magics and spent more than a decade as little more than a pitiful wraith. My crimes will be judged by Lady Magic herself, if she has not already done so," Voldemort informed them scornfully, pulling Harry just a bit closer to his chest in a fashion that could easily be mistaken for possessiveness.

"Explain!" Dumbledore demanded, deciding that as long as he could keep the current Dark Lord talking then fewer people would be caught in the cross fire when spells finally started to fly. The crowd was once more in an uproar even as the spells made them heard clearly by everyone in attendance.

"Who do you think we made the deal with? Lady Magic, Lady Fate, and Death himself issued the agreement," Voldemort informed them maliciously.

"That reminds me, everyone is getting a crash course in muggles and their achievements, especially weapons! No exceptions," Harry told them coldly. "Anyone muggle raised can test out of the class. I'll not have more than half our people killed again simply because some idiot let slip that we were magical!"

"If the two of you are done baiting the Headmaster? Perhaps we should be on our way?" Snape suggested wearily. "Its quite obvious that we are no longer welcome here. The edge of the wards closest to us is in the forest, the apparation point is in the opposite direction, as are the gates."

"You are _not_ leaving!" Dumbledore thundered. A ripple of magic spread from him into the wards, attempting to lock the three of them inside the castle wards. When the magic reached out to clamp down around them it tasted them before reeling back away from the founders heirs and their marked vassal. The magical control of the wards ripped its self from the custodianship of the Headmaster and moved to the two heirs, acknowledging them and granting them the right to apparate within Hogwarts and her grounds.

"You fool," Voldemort mocked with a harsh laugh. "You just _gave_ us the wards. I can have them evict every last one of you with a thought."

"Is that what that was?" Harry asked curiously.

"Yes Harry, that was the wards reverting to us," Voldemort said with drawn out patience as he mentally rolled his eyes.

"Lords, would you allow us to escort you from this place?" The sphinx asked, amusement dancing in her voice. Voldemort considered her and the implied protection of the offer before bowing his head in acknowledgement, accepting the offer. Harry gave a squawk as the red-eyed serpentine man behind him shifted his grip to swing him up into his arms and carry him.

"~Come Nagini, we're leaving.~" Voldemort hissed as he turned away from the other wizards, accepting the creature escort of sphinx, centaur, acromantula, and blast-ended skrewt. Snape sent one last glare filled with loathing at Dumbledore before turning and following with Nagini using all of her speed to turn and catch up with her master, causing the potions master to yelp as she flashed past him.

"Oi, Barty! Don't get caught this time and leave the students alone! You're no help without a soul!" Harry called over Voldemort's shoulder before tiredly leaning against the boney chest of his once deadly foe and drifting off into an exhausted sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ideas on where you all want to see this go would be nice.


	4. Gringotts

A whisper campaign began almost the moment that Voldemort and Harry Potter left the school grounds. The open acknowledgement of the full blooded creatures in attendance had floored those aware of their own creature blood. It was no longer a battle between the Dark and the Light but a command from Lady Magic herself. They would wait for the decision of the Goblins before proceeding, after all only those in the forbidden forest had sworn to these two new lords of magic.

Harry woke slowly to the sounds of a quiet conference between Voldemort and Snape. Blearily he looked around the room, noting the fact that it was similar to a shabby and dirty version of the room at the Leaky Cauldron he'd stayed in during the summer just before third year. Neither of the older wizards noticed that he had woken, as a result he was able to quietly observe them as they discussed something he wasn't awake enough to discern. The lack of other noises despite the shabby open window showing a brilliantly blue sky and some random roof tops of clearly wizard origin told the young wizard there were silencing and privacy spells in place.

"~How long do you think it will take him to realize that you're not planning on treating him like a slave this time around?~" Harry asked, the hissing tones of parseltongue almost lost in his sleepy voice after having observed both wizard's body language and their quietly animated discussion for a good five minutes.

"~About when I decide to prank him.~" Voldemort hissed back with a careless shrug, completely ignoring the fact that Snape was still watching him warily. "~I'm thinking of dying his hair pink or dosing him with a prank potion to get it across... When did you first realize I wasn't going to mistreat him?~"

"~When I reviewed the differences between the memories in the graveyard. If you had been planning to act like a git again you wouldn't have offered him just about anything.~" Harry hissed back dryly, not wanting the dour potions master to know for certain they were discussing him.

"As soon as we've gotten at least one vault sorted out all three of us are going to need clothes and basic supplies," Voldemort pointed out, switching to English to include Snape in the discussion. Having decided to ignore the pointed comment about his actions and the supposed largess in regards to the boon he had bestowed on Snape in the form of Harry himself.

"Good, I can finally get something decent to wear," Harry said sleepily with a large yawn, still not properly awake.

"Finally got tired of those rags you use as a fashion statement?" Snape sneered at the sleepy eyed teen.

"Not a fashion statement, they were my cousin's and then I was never let out of sight long enough to get money from my vault and buy my own. Not that it would have mattered anyway. Uncle Vernon would have assumed the new stuff was stolen or something and forced me to watch as he burned them the moment I got back to the Dursleys. If that was all they did then I would have gotten off lucky. Hell, I'm lucky they never tried to kill Hedwig and usually gave my stuff back in time for the train," Harry told them, having nearly fallen back asleep, moments later he was back in dreamland, completely unaware of the fact that he had informed the other two that he'd never had his own clothes.

"I don't think we'll get any concrete answers out of him unless we use Veritaserum or Legillimency. He's normally more reticent, even with people he likes so I must conclude that it was the exhaustion talking. As possibly damaging him is no longer a viable possibility perhaps we should contrive a meeting with his relatives and extract the information from them?" Snape suggested slowly as they both stared at the sleeping teen.

"You may be right," Voldemort said thoughtfully, ruby eyes narrowed in concentration. "First, however, we need to ensure either his emancipation or get his guardianship reassigned to one of our own people. I probably shouldn't have shown up at Hogwarts but explaining the situation in such a way that it was impossible to repress was the best short term solution overall. Once we have the situation publicly acknowledged and confirmed as an emergency we'll have more breathing room and can start preparing everyone. It is inevitable that there will be a certain amount of violent conflict between the magical world and the muggle world when we are revealed. I will have to discuss how he handled it in the other timeline since I was already dead at that point."

"There are very few people in our world who can truly do as they please, for one reason or another. You and Potter are two of them, Dumbledore is another," Snape reminded quietly. "The issue is going to be getting everyone else to cooperate and to counter any attempt at sabotage that Dumbledore may make. He wont be pleased to have lost Potter, nor will he be especially thrilled that you've returned, my lord."

"No, he wont," Voldemort agreed softly. "Which is one of the reasons that we need Harry out of his grasp. I would accept someone neutral taking him if they had a strong enough character to stand up to Dumbledore but he really is already mentally an adult. He was one when he finally killed me and the deal was struck. At least this time around I'm sane and we have a chance, no matter how small of one."

"As you know my vault should be unaffected for the moment, perhaps..." Snape began hesitantly only to be waved silent by Voldemort.

"I am greatful that you were willing to pay for the room and our meal. Should you pay for anything else we will need before I regain access to my vaults I am perfectly happy to reimburse you," Voldemort informed the dour man. "The important thing was to inform everyone and get away before some idiot decided to try killing us. We have accomplished that. Now we need to sort out our own affairs before we can work on the rest of the wizarding world."

"Of course my lord," Severus said softly with a slight incline of his head before raising his head from the respectful bow. Voldemort mentally sighed in exasperation and started plotting what prank to pull on the other man to get him to loosen up as they watched the green-eyed brat sleep in silence for the next hour before he once again roused.

"Awake, my lady fair?" Voldemort asked the green-eyed menace that was quietly grumbling as he tried to force his eyes back open. Harry sent a tired glare at the still serpent-like man before flipping him off earning a snort of amusement from Voldemort and an exasperated look at the ceiling from Snape.

"Potter, I would appreciate it if you curbed your more suicidal tendencies," Snape growled out, not really expecting an answer and ignoring the indignant look that he got from the young lion without batting an eyelash.

"~When are you going to prank him again?~" Harry hissed at the Serpent Lord, still glaring at the potions master.

"Now, now, play nice," Voldemort admonished lightly, amusement dancing in his eyes. "Gringotts, shopping, or reporters?"

"Gringotts," Harry responded immediately without bothering to think about it all that much. He really didn't want to have someone else pay for his stuff, nor did he want to get ambushed by any random reporters. At least the goblins would be willing to hide him from the quill wielding blood sucking vultures, even if it would be for a price.

"You could always offer to test their security system in exchange for whatever you needed, like hiding from all your fans," Voldemort pointed out dryly, remembering a flash of Harry's own memory where he ranted to his friends about loathing his fame. Harry dragged himself out of his bed and used various charms and spells to make himself more presentable before sending the ruby-eyed man a half hearted glare for his commentary.

"You know damn well that humans are natural problem solvers for all that most of them act like idiots. They would find some way to get to me no matter what I tried," Harry snapped back before stalking out of the door to their small set of rooms. 

Upon reaching the street, followed closely by a quietly snickering Voldemort and a long suffering Snape, Harry discovered they were somewhere down Knockturn Alley. The trio quickly made their way past various witches, wizards, and those of creature blood discussing the special addition of the Daily Prophet that had gone out around midnight the night before while everyone was fast asleep. Snape picked up a discarded copy as they went passed a rubbish bin and snorted at what was on the front page before handing it to the other two. 

Apparently Dumbledore had manage to spell nearly everyone present not to reveal what had happened during the end of the third task. Unfortunately for him he missed a little water beetle with an acid green quill and a talent for nasty words. Rita had even written about how the Headmaster had spelled everyone to silence and tried to burn down the forbidden forest in a fit of tantrum-like retaliation against the Acromantula Colony and Centaur Heard. To say that the residents of the forest took a dim view of his actions would be an understatement. By the same token they showed they were as good as their word when a number of underage guests and students had somehow found themselves within the forest. 

The unexpected young guests were protected by Centaurs and Acromantula from both the hazards of the forest and panicking wizarding officials. The adults who eventually managed to retrieve them found that if they offered no harm they were free to pass. More than one adult who offered harm to either forest residents or the underage magic users themselves found out first hand exactly how effective and protective both heard and colony were when working together. 

Rita also got in a shot about Dumbledore's attempt to trap the trio of wizards, getting Snape's name wrong, and how the castle wards had acknowledged the two lords of magic as heirs of the founders, reverting to their control. An interesting tidbit that the three wizards had been unaware of was that the castle had locked down Snape's stores and quarters along with confiscating Harry's belongings. No one could get into any of the potions master's personal domain nor could they locate where Harry's things had disappeared to. Gryffindor's sword, which had been in the Headmaster's office, had also disappeared resulting in Dumbledore having a lovely second tantrum for Rita to relay to the public.

While the paper alternately amused and annoyed the dark-haired trio they were glad of the distraction it gave to the rest of the wizarding public as they were able to pass through the alleys into Gringotts unmolested. Since the bank was sovereign ground belonging solely to the goblins they had no fear of being suddenly hauled off to Azkaban if someone realized who they were. All three waited patiently for an open and obviously available teller to speak too, not even bothering to try to interrupt the goblins who were doing something that didn't actually involve a customer. As a result when they were finally addressed they were given far more courtesy by the teller, earning stares of shock from more than one pushy pureblood customer.

"May I help you?" The teller asked politely, looking mildly interested and missing the customary evil smirk and/or glare.

"May your gold flow and your enemies drown in their own blood," Voldemort greeted politely, taking the lead and earning a slight widening of the goblin's eyes in surprise at the correct and respectful address. "I have recently been returned to a functioning body and would like to address my affairs. My companions would also like to sort out and update their recently changed affairs. As this may take some time I would request a meeting with the goblins in charge of our various accounts and the use of a meeting room of some type to the hopeful increase of gold on both our parts and the part of the goblin nation. Can this be accommodated or will we need to return at a later time?"

"I'd like Griphook to be a part of the discussion if at all possible, master goblin," Harry interjected quickly earning slightly odd looks from his companions and a shocked pause from the teller.

"If you can identify Under clerk Griphook then he can certainly be made part of the discussion with your account managers," The teller informed them, initiating the first part of one of the more common, if lesser known, tests of goblin favor. 

Harry just shrugged in response, figuring it was a way of confirming who he was asking for and pointed to Griphook who was helping another teller less than twenty feet away. The goblin teller gave the young man a slow nod and made a note on a piece of parchment before gesturing for Griphook to join them. They were led to a lavishly decorated office, followed by a slightly confused Griphook, where they were all seated at a well apportioned table and served with refreshments. Something occurred to Harry as they sat waiting for the account managers causing him to mutter to himself and earning an inquisitive look from the others in the process.

"I never did manage to learn Occlumency," Harry offered, bitterly amused as his memory of Sirius' death flashed through his mind. 

"Who tried to teach you the first time?" Voldemort asked, ignoring the way Griphook was occasionally twitching nervously and the thoughtful looks from Severus.

"Snape but his hatred for James got in the way and we were all having to deal with Umbridge. Also you weren't exactly nice about much that year, not to mention the visions you kept sending me. Gods, I was lucky to be working on an hour of sleep that year," Harry commented, his tone more amusement than bitterness this time as he recalled the students various attempts to get back at the woman and the joy of teaching the DA.

"Didn't get any of those memories," Voldemort murmured thoughtfully as they each served themselves from the refreshments.

"May I ask why I am here?" Griphook finally spoke up quietly.

"Because I like you and in the other timeline you helped me, even if you did break our agreement," Harry told him candidly as the door opened and their account managers stood in the doorway staring at them in shock.

"Apparently we're going to need one of the upper managers," One of the newcomers said faintly, all of them having heard Harry's answer.

"There were extenuating circumstances and it involved a goblin made artifact, the Sword of Gryffindor. I don't really blame him for trying it and he, along with most of the tellers, died when this great idiot found out what happened," Harry said jerking his head at Voldemort, choosing to ignore the playful amusement lighting up the man's ruby eyes.

"I'm not insane any more brat, not to mention you'd be furious too if one of your enemies had literally just stolen a piece of your soul," Voldemort shot back, clearly amused as a smile danced about his lips and ignoring the expressions the goblins were sporting as they finished entering the room and took their seats.

"Was damn hard to get that and we lost the sword in the process, had to send Hermione and Ron down to the chamber for a basilisk fang from the corpse. Sorry about having to kill her by the way but your bloody diary had taken Ginny and was trying to kill me," Harry mused almost absently as he took a sip from his goblet of water.

"Since my soul has mostly been pasted back together its a moot point," Voldemort said pointedly ignoring the comment about the basilisk. "If you know where the necklace is I'd like it back and no, you still can't have the ring or even the stone set in the ring. I'm willing to have Bella return the cup to Hogwarts if its put on display and kept in the school. The same with Ravenclaws Diadem. Gryffindor's Sword is rightfully yours if I remember the Potter bloodline chart that I looked up last time correctly. That was one of my more lucid moments but it did let me confirm that the Potters are descended from Godric Gryffindor just as the Gaunts are descended from Salazar Slytherin."

"Well that explains why I could actually use the sword rather than simply trying to wave around a sharp metal stick when I was twelve with no training at all and facing down a 1,000 year old basilisk," Harry commented almost dryly, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Probably has some sort of enchantment to help anyone of the correct bloodline use it, especially if they're in danger. Wait, mostly? What do you mean _mostly_?"

"The bonds with you and Nagini are still in place. You already know how the link transformed being a part of you for so long. Something similar happened with the familar bond I managed to establish with Nagini while I was a wraith," Voldemort admitted wryly, thoroughly enjoying this new mentally older Potter and the lack of absolute need to kill his counter-part.

"Noted," Harry said with a nod, eyebrows raised once more in surprise. "Right so, I'd really like to avoid the hormones this time but I'm guessing that to clear up any misunderstandings and bar Dumbledore from access to my vault we'll have to explain the situation. Then I'll be free to buy an aging potion or something so I don't have to go through that again."

"Do you not mean vaults Mr. Potter?" One of the new goblins asked, his equivalent of an eyebrows being raised.

"Um, no? I only have one vault," Harry said almost apprehensively. Both older wizards were suddenly very attentive, knowing how insanely rich the Potter family has been for centuries.

"You... Mr. Potter do you know the whereabouts of your vault keys?" The same goblin asked carefully.

"That's part of the reason I want to ban Dumbledore from my vault. I've never actually held my key. First year Hagrid had it then it was always held by a member of Dumbledore's Order. After I killed Voldy in the other timeline I was too busy trying to keep everyone alive against discovery by the muggles to worry over my vault. I just used the ones that Voldemort gave me. Though Lucius was a big help in getting everyone to stop being idiots. Between the Malfoys and Snape I was actually knocked out or forced to eat more than once so I didn't kill myself trying to fix the mess and keep as many people as possible from being killed. End result was that I was happy with a good night's sleep and a decent meal for the most part." Harry said thoughtfully, causing the other two wizards to exchange resigned glances of determination. If they had to mimic the other timeline in this they would. Besides they still hadn't found out what the disturbing hints that Harry had given off actually meant yet and that could cause serious problems later. "So I suppose the answer would be no. Can you issue me a new key and cancel the old one?"

"Did you ever write letters of authorization for someone else to withdraw money or items from your vaults?" Another goblin asked apprehensively.

"Noooo. I mean I owl ordered a few things over the years but actually signing a letter of credit or authorization? Nope, not that I'm aware of for either timeline," Harry told them, looking around at them curiously, unaware of the grim glint that had entered the eyes of the goblins.

"What is this about?" Severus asked quietly, trying his best to ignore the rocky knot of unease that was now firmly lodged in his gut.

"I think that the three of us are going to need a _full_ audit of our accounts, conducted under the provision of possible Gringotts employee interference," Voldemort said softly, earning a grimace from the goblin contingent as they failed to object to the necessity of such precautions. "That said I would also like to request that anyone suspected or found to have interfered with our assets and vaults be checked for personal tampering such as potions and spells. I understand that the penalty for such interference is usually death but in exchange for as quiet a correction of our assets as possible I ask that only those who _willingly_ assisted in this... error fall prey to that particular punishment. For my part I will grant full authority to the goblin nation to correct the situation as they see fit. I will also present both bank and nation with a minimum of 1,000 Galleons for their prompt aid in sorting out this... unfortunate situation."

"~We could offer them Gryffindor's Sword. It's on display in Dumbledore's office after I pulled it out of the sorting hat.~" Harry offered thoughtfully, the hissing tones of parseltongue almost soothing as the young wizard plotted.

"~No, it was their responsibility to keep our accounts in order and untampered with. The 2,000 Galleons was to prove we take this seriously and to try and get this sorted out as promptly as possible.~" Voldemort calmly hissed in return.

"~Should we tell them that Hogwarts acknowledged us as heirs?~" Harry shot back, the irritation showing clearly in the serpent's tongue, earning him a deadpan look from Voldemort.

"Potter, their records update automatically. It should already show that the castle acknowledged us last night," Voldemort pointed out, his irritation making his tone sharper than originally intended as he responded in English. "Besides part of the magical audit will tell us who's been tampering with our mail. If they find tampering they pay for the audit, I'm paying for it otherwise. I want to know why you think that you only have one vault and since we have a soul bond I have the right to request it." Harry huffed half in amusement and half in annoyed exasperation.

"Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Is there anything else that is imperative to be done as soon as possible before we proceed?" A second goblin with more embroidery and ornamentation on his clothes then the others asked politely.

"Certifying my existence, Potter's emancipation or change in guardianship, revocation of any agreement or legal document which Dumbledore can use to force or trap any of the three of us, and access to a minimum of a million Galleons for at least the next two weeks," Voldemort told them bluntly. "Everything else can wait if it must. We need the Galleons to pay for supplies and sort out other business."

"And something that doesn't force me to return to the Dursley residence this summer if you can't get me emancipation or a new reasonable guardian." Harry growled, completely oblivious to the odd looks he had earned from his fellow wizards with his proviso.

"If necessary I can sell any potions that I brew until the situation is sorted out," Severus offered softly, eying his young charge in concern as he started plotting what they were likely to need in the short term. He idly wondered if he could simply tie Harry to a bed somewhere to keep him out of any more trouble. 

"Or we can simply ask Lucius to help," Voldemort drawled, mischievous amusement lighting up his eyes and tone. "He still hasn't provided recompense for _loosing_ my diary."

"Loosing it? He _planted_ it on Ginny," Harry said with a snort. "Though I admit the fist fight between him and Mr. Weasley was funny."

"Severus? No matter what I say, unless Lucius' brat personally crosses the line I have no intention of actually hurting him. If my memory serves you are the child's godfather so I thought you'd appreciate the warning," Voldemort commented with a feigned nonchalance that was intentionally easy for everyone to see through. The warning not to interfere if he threatened Draco was conveyed loud and clear. Harry bit back a snort of amusement, doing his best to keep his face straight, knowing that it was more than a warning about Draco but also the perfect set up to whatever prank Voldemort would pull on the dour man.

"Yes, my lord," Severus said in a respectfully quiet tone, reminded once again of who exactly the ruby-eyed man was.

"~I can't wait to see what prank you pull on him. Gods he is so stressed out and uptight. We really need to get him to relax.~" Harry hissed, mirth and slight worry dancing in his emerald eyes, earning a snort from his counter-part and a glare from the potions master.

"~He usually brews potions when he's too stressed out. Its one of the reasons why I asked for a million Galleons to start until they can clear our accounts. None of us really require insanely expensive high quality robes and we can get them after the accounts are cleared, potions ingredients and supplies on the other hand...~" Voldemort hissed in response to the green-eyed menace's obvious worry almost off-handedly.

"~Yeah, especially if he needs some of the more expensive ones.~" Harry hissed his agreement with a wince.

"Would you like to accept and/or confirm any Lordships or inheritances while you are here so they can be included in the audit?" Griphook suggested politely, having been pensively quiet since the others had entered the meeting room.

"Does it have to wait until my status clears or does the fact that I was forced to participate in the Triwizard Tournament actually declare me an adult? That was one of the issues I wanted clarified," Harry asked with a keen interest. "I realize that we already said that I need to either be emancipated or given a new guardian but that was more of a precaution in case forced participation in the tournament didn't actually declare me an adult."

"Then why in heavens name did you toss that in their faces before we left?" Severus asked in astonishment.

"Because it made an important point. As far as they are concerned I'm not their tool, toy, punching bag, savior, or any other bloody thing they come up with to label me as, not any more, not this time around," Harry said with a growl saturated with frustration, anger, determination, and a sorrowful sense of lost dreams. He brooded until Voldemort rolled his eyes and tapped him sharply on the head with his finger, sharply bringing the younger wizard out of his funk. 

"What happened to Nagini?" Harry suddenly asked out of the blue as he came out of his mini-funk.

"She decided to go hunting after getting restless watching us. You slept for a good eighteen hours," Voldemort answered, amusement and frustration practically radiating off of him. "She knows not to try eating anything bigger than a Kneezle or, at most, a medium sized dog and not to bite anyone unless they attack first."

"Oh... dog... Sirius! Sirius is still alive!" Harry said, stunned by his conclusion, then he blushed as he remembered Voldemort's reaction to him wanting Wormtail to be revealed with the rest of them. Voldemort arched an eyebrow in amusement as he patiently waited for the younger wizard to remember what happened the previous night and work through his chain of logic. He knew the stubborn lion had figured it out when Harry slumped over onto the table, banging his head with a dejected thump.

"Better?" Voldemort asked sweetly, receiving a slightly muffled "No" in response as the goblins watched the drama in a sort of morbidly horrified fascination.

"This is excessive," Severus muttered before tossing an ice cold _Aguamenti_ at the sulking teen. Harry shot up in his seat and met the glare of the brew master with a glare of his own. Eventually their gazes dropped as they pretended nothing had happened and turned toward the others seated at the table.

"Er, we were about to test for other holdings and certify any lordships I believe?" One of the goblins reminded them quietly.

"Can we also find a way to make snake boy look more human before we leave?" Harry asked with a suddenly mischievous glint in his eye.

"Brat," Voldemort told him with an eye roll as both of them took the proffered silver dagger and charmed parchment from one of the goblins. 

Harry resisted the childish urge to make a face or stick his tongue out at the other wizard as he allowed 3 drops of blood to fall onto the parchment before healing the small cut, made with his dagger. He might physically be fourteen but that didn't mean he had to act it, or younger for that matter. They watched as the blood shifted into ink, spreading into writing as the magic extracted first their bloodlines then their holdings from the drops of blood. The magic finally finished by detailing it all in a nice neat list.

"I thought I had gotten nothing, that I had been disinherited," Severus whispered as he stared in shock at the words _Prince Accounts_ and _Prince Lordship_ under his holdings. "Why wasn't I informed?"

"You were sir. Albus Dumbledore arrived and heard the Prince will in your stead. He had a letter of authority to manage your holdings," One of the lower ranked goblins carefully explained.

"As far as I was aware I only held my small personal vault that my teaching salary goes into," The dour man informed them absently as he gingerly reached out a hand to touch the parchment and confirm that it was real, not some hallucination or dream.

"Uh, why does it list that I have like 16 vaults and lots of other things?" Harry asked, staring wide-eyed in shock at his own parchment. "I was almost positive that the adoption didn't carry over into this timeline since Sir Snakes-a-lot is still alive and he only just got a body back."


	5. Unexpected Holdings

"It seems we've all received a surprise," Voldemort said softly, looking at his own parchment. He nodded vaguely in approval or acknowledgement when he noted the Slytherin and Gaunt Lordships, eyebrow rising in surprise at a few of the stipulations which he had unknowingly fulfilled. A sharp intake of breath was the only indication he gave but it was enough to draw the instant attention of the other two wizards.

"What?" Harry demanded, glad of the distraction from his own confusing results.

"My father was apparently a squib. His ancestor was Myrridan Emrys, better known as Merlin," Voldemort practically breathed in shock. 

A moment later he convulsed, the shock having triggered a part of the poorly made potion that Wormtail had used to return him to a body which should have been active all along. Severus, moving fast, barely got him out of his chair and onto the floor. A flick of the wrist and his handkerchief became a scarf which was subsequently shoved into Voldemort's mouth to keep him from biting through or choking on his tongue. Harry, moments behind the potions master, restrained his counter part's torso and arms to minimize any damage done. This left Snape free to assess the situation, instructing the younger wizard on what to do even as he held the ruby-eyed man's head still and the goblins called for a healer.

"I'm going to kill that rat when I next see him," Snape seethed, as he pulled a temporary muscle relaxant potion from his emergency supply and poured it down Voldemort's throat, quickly replacing the scarf when he was done. He knew that the relaxant would lessen not only the damage that might be done but also ease the dangerous tension in the man's neck muscles. 

A quick medical scan revealed that his supposition about Wormtail's poor brewing ability was correct as the man started to look more human than snake-human hybrid. It took twenty minutes for Voldemort to fully stabilize, burning through the potion, and by that time his features had shifted more towards what Harry remembered of his diary self looking like in the chamber. He had a nose again, had lost some of the pure white paleness bringing his skin tone closer to that of a merely human paleness rather than the skin tone of an albino serpent. 

Something else that changed, and would later have Harry laughing, was the slight fuzz of dark brown hair he had gained covering his scalp even as his eyebrows grew in. Somehow the Gryffindor instinctively knew that the only observable features the man would be keeping from his hybrid state were the ruby colored eyes. Harry also thought that he would have an instinctive ability to shift fully or partly into a version of his hybrid form closer to that of a Naga or Lamia, complete with fangs and venom sac. For example the man would probably be able to consciously or instinctively shift the individual attributes to gain and use them individually or in some combination. Harry didn't doubt that Voldemort would gleefully use them for all sorts of things, especially intimidation of his followers.

As Voldemort's form stabilized and he was able to relax limply into an exhausted pile, Harry carefully lifted himself off of the older wizard and backed away. This allowed Snape and the newly arrived Goblin Healer room to work. Harry watched them check Voldemort over and noticed an unconscious tell he _knew_ belonged to his future Severus, caused by an accident after the deal was struck that had reacted with Nagini's venom. This realization had Harry settling back more confidently waiting for instructions should the muttering potions master issue them. 

Finally, both Healer and Potions Master sat back and had a rapid fire discussion using a short hand filled with medical terms that Harry couldn't follow. They appeared to be having an argument over who would take charge for any future relapses. Eventually, Snape won, having cited his resources and personal knowledge of the patient along with his ability to brew any needed potions. Grudgingly, the goblin healer agreed with the proviso that he be able to check over both of the other humans before they left. Sourly, Snape agreed and Harry patiently endured a second round of discussions after in depth scans of all three were taken as the two poured over the results.

"You aren't going back to your relatives," Snape said shortly after a brief look at Harry's earlier years just as Voldemort carefully sat up and eyed them all with exhaustion.

"I told you that I'm not a pampered prince," Harry said softly, watching Severus' reactions with interest. A flinch and a flash of a pain flitting across the dour man's face before his impassive mask was firmly back in place reminded Harry. It reminded him of how they had been able to work together but also that he had never managed to bring himself to explain his upbringing to the man. 

"I was mistaken," Severus said softly, refusing to meet the younger man's gaze.

"Just like that time that Seamus tried to make an instant currant rum and accidentally blew up the lab?" Harry teased lightly, watching as Snape stiffened in remembered fury over his work area being rudely invaded and destroyed. Then the flash of realization that Harry knew. "When did you get your copy of the memories and how far do they stretch?"

"My memories were... updated in a fashion less violent then your own," Severus said uneasily, wary as to how they would react even as he eyed Harry carefully. "I received them last night while I slept. I did not quite allow myself to realize they were real... Lord Potter."

"I guess this is how you stayed alive for so many years as a spy, you're good at hiding yourself," Harry said with a soft snort of amusement, his eyes softening in a look of fondness, not really bothered about yet one more change in the situation and circumstances. He was more amused over the tacit admission of fondness the title implied than worried over the fact that Snape had been deemed important enough to send back or the fact that his question on timing was ignored.

"He still bears my mark," Voldemort pointed out quietly as they all carefully moved back to their seats at the table, having at some point removed the bundled up scarf from his mouth.

"We'll discuss it later," Harry said with a deep sigh of resignation. He _knew_ there was going to be some sort of fight over Snape eventually so he wasn't all that surprised at the comment.

"Lords? Are you well?" Griphook asked carefully, bravely speaking up while the others watched the drama play out, staying out of the way.

"We're alright unless the Healer found something. Thanks for your concern any way Griphook," Harry told him, again easily recognizing the goblin without even needing to look before getting back down to business. When they looked at the Healer he gave a clearly annoyed short nod to indicate that they were fit to continue dispite whatever he may have found. "Now, about the misappropriation of our assets and authorities."

"You will be allotted a spending account of 5 million galleons while your accounts and holdings are being audited. Fees, damages, and any compensation on both sides will be calculated upon completion of the audit. Anything that in any way belonged to the three of you since August 1st, 1980, the date chosen for convenience and simplicity's sake, will be included in the audit. As this particular audit will include any properties or residences we will provide suitable housing and equipment. If you would like to purchase the location and equipment after the audit it can be arranged." The lead ranking goblin calmly explained, eying Harry with more interest than the other two wizards. "The Wizengamott will be informed of the audit due to the use of several seats being in question as a result. Should it be found that a law was passed using your seats in any way without your permission or knowledge once the audit is complete you can call for a re-vote on the law and remove it or reconfirm it. This does not apply if the seats were not used or were used via confirmed permission, then normal procedures apply."

"Alright, sounds simple enough, as long as our seats were involved in some way without our permission we can call for a re-vote," Harry repeated with a deep sigh. "We clearly can't move forward until the mess with our various titles and seats are sorted out any way, not unless we decide to kidnap the entire Wizengamott."

"It would be a bit difficult but we could do it," Voldemort said consideringly, earning an incredulous look from Harry and a rather resigned sigh from Snape.

"Perhaps we should focus on providing you with access to the spending vault and your temporary residence? The issue of reestablishing Lord Slytherin's existence is simple enough as the magic declared you simply incapacitated rather than fully dead. No one with any legal authority under goblin law attempted to claim your assets which have been held in trust by the bank. As a result, according to our records you merely chose not to access your accounts for the last 13 years. Qualifying Lord Potter for adult status is possible due to the established time travel circumstances, if a bit time consuming and requires a great deal of paperwork. For a price we would be willing to handle all of the details and provide the correctly tailored aging potion." One of the goblins offered politely as a few of them sent slightly uneasy glances towards Voldemort.

"Is the price for all of this going to be galleons or information or something else?" Harry asked cautiously.

"We are willing to entertain any of the three as payment as long as the agreement is upheld and both parties find it mutually beneficial," The goblin said completely straight faced.

"I offer memories of the final death of the Gringotts clan from the alternate timeline at the hands of the muggles and an alliance between myself and either the goblin nation as a whole or the Gringotts clan alone. In exchange I would ask that our affairs be handled with the honor I know your people to wield and that no action be taken against those who's actions are revealed in the memories as the circumstances have drastically changed," Harry offered quietly in a formal tone after a moment's thought. "I also offer to include a place among the new order we will need to build for the goblin people to be represented as equals amongst wizards, even if I must assign one or more of my own seats to one of your people to accomplish this. Of course this is presuming that I have access to said seats in the first place. Otherwise I will do my best to provide other equivalent compensation or locate a goblin artifact to return to your care."

Completely blindsided, the small group of goblins stared at him in utter shock that was mirrored by the other two men. No one had ever considered making such an offer, muchless possibly following through on it, and everyone in the room knew that Harry _would_ follow through with his promise. The magic sentience of the bank reacted quickly, before anyone moved a pensive appeared in front of the young Lord as the bank its self accepted on behalf of the goblins. This act provided an explicitly binding agreement with the entire goblin nation and automatically conveyed friend of the goblin nation status. 

However, there was a small note beside the pensive from the building its self, requesting all important memories from his entire life in both timelines and signed by both the bank building and Hogwarts. Harry simply raised an eyebrow at the request and signature, mentally shrugging as he complied. He wondered why the living buildings wanted various memories from the _entirety_ of his life and not simply what happened in the other timeline. 

The moment the copied memories were in the pensive the enchanted bowl vanished, melting away into the stone table, absorbed by the magic of the building. It clearly didn't take long for the building to assimilate the memories because moments later a rumbling shudder and groan echoed through the very bones of the building. New rooms formed even as the building burrowed deeper into the earth, forming warrens of rooms and passages, creating a place of refuge for Goblin and Wizard alike in the hope that it would never be needed. 

Hundreds of miles away Hogwarts did the same as did many other sentient magical buildings across the planet. Automatic messages went out from each living magical building to every magical people and group, carrying the warning of imminent discovery and urging them to seek a place of refuge. The messages also declared the Magic's choosing of two new lords and listed all names and titles that either of them had ever gone by, specifying which was the birth name and which the preferred name. The files in front of the goblins updated deepening their shock even as the rumbling of stone settled back into a sleepy contentment.

"I do not believe that you will need to kidnap the Wizengamott," Griphook said softly as he read over the paperwork that had appeared in front of him assigning him to their group as liaison and goblin representative despite his relative youth of only 250 years old.

"I will arrange for their fitting and confirm the spending account at 15 million galleons with a second back up account of an additional 10 million," One goblin said softly before slipping from the room.

"What did you do now?" Severus asked in a greatly aggrieved tone that bordered on exasperation.

"The note signed by the bank building and Hogwarts asked for more memories than I was originally going to hand over. I didn't see the harm since they're buildings and presumed that I would be handing over the ones I offered to the goblins themselves later," Harry said with a puzzled shrug. "I figured it was part of the price that was mentioned for the deal that we struck. So I gave as wide a selection as possible and made sure to include the memories they specifically asked for."

"Did you learn _nothing_ in your second year?" Snape groaned, covering his eyes with a despairing hand.

" _Hogwarts_." Harry stressed the name, waving a hand at where the pensive and note had first appeared and indicating why he trusted the buildings despite not knowing where they stored their brains. He turned to the goblins, ignoring the glowering brew master to ask about getting back to his proper age. "Can I take the aging potion now? Its really annoying being 14 again, nothing feels quite right."

"Only if you take a dose that stops just shy of 17. You will have to physically age to 17 on your own to receive your full magical inheritance. Due to the power that you already display we will likely need an area far away from everyone else and to place heavy wards to deal with the power spike during your coming of age. Dumbledore had planned to forcibly delay your coming of age but died first. I have no idea what this version of Dumbledore had planned but the sooner you are at full power the better," Severus informed him pointedly. "One method that has been used in times past to keep someone from gaining their full power is to give them an aging potion just before their birthday that will age them just a few days. Just enough for them to be past their coming of age in a few moments. At Hogwarts it is protocol to have the students go to the hospital wing as they begin to over heat due to the build up of magic and send them to sleep during the actual coming of age. This limits the more dangerous magical surges yet allows the student to safely come into their full power."

"Moody made me take a potion while everyone else took the polyjuice just before we left the Dursleys the last time around," Harry said softly, almost thoughtfully. "I never experienced the heat you're describing."

"You mean to tell me that you successfully pulled off those magics with a partially closed juvenile core?!" Snape demanded in outraged shock. Harry just sort of half shrugged as if to say maybe sending the man off into a quietly muttered tirade of curses and dire imprecations.

"If we hook him up to ancient wards, especially ones that are failing or a strong enough magical building we can bleed off some of the excess power and use it while easing his transition," Voldemort said thoughtfully as he looked at the young lion. "He obviously will be to powerful to sleep through it if we don't want the area completely decimated and I suspect that limiting his core as was done the first time to be... unwise. I was visiting a deserted location for my own inheritance, looking for a good place to set up meetings outside of school and passed out. When I woke, I thought that I had been moved by someone since the entire area was decimated. I had thought it strange that there was enough compatible magic in later years to use it as a ritual site."

"You infused the very land of the area with extra power during your inheritance?" A goblin asked in shock. Snape simply pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed deeply, counting to 100 to try and keep his temper and remembering as much of the exact wording of the damn prophecy as he could. 

"Yes, we're definitely going to need to find a sentient magical stone building with failing wards to drain off the excess power," Snape said decidedly. "We may even need to set up large empty power stones to take the extra load. Or alternatively we could choose a stone building to pour all of the power into but it would take on a great deal of Potter's personality as it became immediately powerfully sentient. Any building we drain the excess power into is going to take on some aspects of his personality no matter what we do."

"Knowing my luck something is going to go wrong or seriously weird," Harry pointed out glumly as he slumped in his seat sulking just a bit.

"That may have been the reasoning for Moody giving you the aging potion," Voldemort pointed out. "I had control over nearly every location where it would have been safe for you to gain the natural power boost of the inheritance and the shear size of it would have put you at risk for being immediately found. I wasn't sane enough to let you be or try and recruit you. You would have been exhausted and no help to anyone despite it gaining enough attention to immediately become the location of the final battle. Considering all of this it was reasonable for the paranoid fool Moody to give you the aging potion, especially if he wasn't fully aware of all of the implications to you, your magic, and your core."

"Lets table the discussion for another time, aging Potter isn't yet necessary. In any case granting him more power to pull off the insane stunts and situations may not be the wisest course of action," Severus pointed out dryly. "Until we can locate an appropriate power sink of some type to take the excess power the point is moot and it would be far safer to simply allow his body to age naturally in any case. If someone is aged past their inheritance it is possible to de-age them so that they can receive it at a later time but the original artificial aging also might lock away their inheritance forever."

"So, as an example, if I knocked out the twins and dosed them with a de-aging potion then let them age naturally to 17 they might get the power boost they missed this year but they also might not because they took the aging potion and went past their 17th birthday already." Harry concluded, earning a nod of agreement and a flitting smile from the dour man that quickly disappeared. "Well, I have to kidnap or recruit them any way and I have no idea how Ron or Hermione are going to take all this, to say nothing of Ginny or Neville. Luna is the only other DA member I can try recruiting immediately since the DA will never exist here the way it did in the other timeline. I have to start from scratch and if we're insanely lucky we wont need the DA any way."

"Er, just a thought but what did the other goblin mean about a fitting? And what are all your names? You never introduced yourselves," Harry asked after a contemplative moment of silence as he suddenly got a funny feeling that there was something they had all missed.

"Gurrat went to arrange for the robes you will need to see the Goblin King, Lord Potter. I am Filkor, this is Urkar and Nurgrot, you already know Griphook." Filkor answered politely, the three wizards exchanged speechless looks in response to that answer.

"Must be another one of those weird things that always seems to happen to me," Harry grumped breaking the tension even as he began to sulk.

"This is one of the reasons why we should wait to try aging you," Severus said dryly. "You _attract_ trouble and complications."

"No argument," Harry grumbled as he ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Do you guys think you can find somewhere that would be safe for me to come into my inheritance? If we wait and someone knows about this effect then we could be in real trouble depending on if they want to try and seal my core or simply set it off early to destroy the area."

"That is an extremely unpleasant thought," Voldemort said distastefully. "Unfortunately, it is a real possibility."

"Perhaps a place can be found but the amount of power you are talking about would utterly destroy most places even as it infuses the land for miles around, even deep into the earth," Filkor warned carefully, not really sure if his people _could_ find a suitable location or project to pour the power into. 

The discussion was interrupted by a messenger from the small call center they maintained for when they interacted with the muggle world. Apparently one of the magicals who routinely guarded the British Royal family had received the emergency evacuation and warning notice while on duty. To say that the Queen was surprised and unhappy was an understatement. The trio would have to be fitted for clothing appropriate to _both_ courts or be given multiple sets. Snape glared darkly at the sheepish Gryffindor for all that he was internally resigned to the situation.

"Why can't we just send them a summary of the situation? That way when everyone else who is either important or thinks they are important asks we can just give them the summary and get on with trying to fix it all," Harry asked in an aggrieved tone as he found himself being stripped to his shorts and fitted for an entire new wardrobe after unwillingly admitting that he never really had his own clothes.

"Be glad that you have yet to be confronted by Narcissa Malfoy or some of the other pure blood ladies over your atrocious wardrobe," Snape snarked back as he finished his last fitting, knowing the younger man would be stuck for at least another hour. "You do realize that you are going to have to drop the glamours at some point?"

The offhand comment had the goblins pausing and Harry sending a startled look at the once more black clad man. A moment later the goblins had him completely stripped of the robes he was trying on for fit and Filkor had called the healer back. They demanded that Harry drop all of his glamours, much to the amusement of his two companions only for it to turn into shock when he complied.

"Merlin, Morgan, and Hecate... its only your fourth year!" Voldemort said in shock, knowing that the young man in front of him would have received numerous other scars than what he was seeing now in the years to come if they hadn't struck the deal. Even so all three of them _remembered_ the scars that _should_ have been there. Harry gave an uncomfortable shrug and refused to meet their gazes.

"Why did you say nothing about the glamours earlier?" The healer demanded of the potions master.

"Because I didn't realize that the little fool had so many active. I had already treated the single injury I believed he had placed under a glamour. I was completely unaware of... _this_." Severus shot back, furious at himself for missing the indications in the first place. His eyes traced the many scars, some of which he recognized as coming from a belt since he carried similar ones of his own.

"The glamours interfered with the earlier scans, giving false readings. Depending on when he used them in the past and how often he was checked by a certified healer it is possible that this would never have been uncovered and he would have died from untreated or mis-healed wounds at some point in the future," The healer informed them with a combination of sadness and fury over the situation and the state that Harry was in.

"Its not that bad," Harry said with a slight frown only to receive incredulous looks from everyone present. "Its really not."

"If I find that you've replaced the glamours or put more up in the future to cover your scars and injuries you will not like the punishment I will meet out," Snape threatened, his voice rasping with barely contained emotion.

"What are you going to do? Spank me?" Harry asked with a snort of amusement.

"Possibly, or I could inform Molly Weasley, Poppy Pomfrey, and Narcissa Malfoy and let _them_ deal with you," Snape said neutrally. "Be glad I have yet to decide if Minerva McGonagall should be included in that list."

Harry's eyes widened in shock and a touch of fear. He could remember the last time those three had found out he had been hiding an injury so as not to bother anyone. It had been enough to rouse the entire Weasley clan from their grief over Fred's death and bring the three terrifying women together on a common footing. He shook his head frantically no with a slight whimper and almost eagerly submitted to the goblin healer's examination.

"Impressive," Voldemort murmured to the dour man who inclined his head minutely in acknowledgement. "We will have to watch him closely and if necessary force him to take better care of himself."

"We may need to do more than that. From the scars I can see, the damage that _did_ show on the scan, and how small he is, he may have gone without for so long as to not actually know what he needs for basic survival much less a healthy life," Severus murmured back, grimly planning to knock the younger wizard out and do his own examination before waking him and questioning the reckless idiot under Veritaserum. He then planned to proceed in repairing as much of the damage as he could with his potions, even if he had to invent new ones to do it and force them down the brat's throat.

The goblin employed tailors discussed needed changes to the formal attire with Filkor. It was decided that one set would conceal the injuries while the other was to be designed to show off as many of the scars as possible. The goblins being a warrior race respected scars and what one went through to earn them, wearing them as badges of honor and courage. 

To them Harry had done himself a dishonor when he hid his scars and they planned on making sure that the goblin court knew he had them. To that end they used a fabric with runes and spells that were already discretely woven into it that would remove and prevent glamours from working for his goblin court attire. It was rare that they needed to use such underhanded tactics to have someone's honor displayed but they were used to dealing with difficult humans. Harry would not be able to hide his scars during the upcoming audience with the Goblin King.

Harry was dismayed to discover the goblin tailor's new plan for his outfit consisted of a pair of flowing jinn style pants and various pieces of jewelery. He had to fight to receive the concession of a vest even if it was a practically nonexistent scrap of fabric. They practically begged him not to insist on full concealing robes, resorting to offering small goblin made silver daggers if he would just go completely shirtless. Harry stoutly refused until Snape came over and tapped him sharply on the top of his head.

"You will go without shirt, vest, or robes if they are this insistent," Severus informed him with a menacing glower. "In exchange I am certain that you will be allowed to have a sort of over robe jacket for outside the audience chamber. You will also graciously accept the priceless artifacts they have offered you, or else."

Harry sulked, sending a hurt puppy dog look at the dour man, but nodded his agreement, much to the tailor's glee. Snape internally gave a sigh of relief that the troublesome brat hadn't tried to seriously get out of his enforcement of goblin custom, nor did he turn those dreaded puppy eyes on him. Even the woman... no, especially the woman, from the previous timeline had fallen to the adorable charms of the younger wizard's blasted puppy eyes! 

Severus mused that he seemed to be the only one remotely immune to the things and hated having to face them down. Thank the gods that Harry wasn't aware of how much power those adorable looks actually had. Snape turned immediately wary when he noticed the mischievous glint suddenly twinkling in the green-eyed menace's gaze as he looked at the darkly clad man thoughtfully.

"If I have to show my scars, shouldn't you have to Severus? I know you have scars too and any that Voldemort had are gone since he's in a new body," Harry asked innocently, setting the tailors on him with a gleeful expression of vengeance. 

Severus found himself quickly striped physically and magically of both clothes and glamours before being subjected to yet another fitting. The glare he sent at the green-eyed imp would have scorched paint as he quietly cursed at having to go through this _again_. As it was he was stuck with a similar get up to the younger wizard and was only talked into a color other than black by the offer of a goblin crafted set of potions knives and scales. 

The final look had him dressed in a deep royal blue pants and a finely wrought silver necklace with matching bracelets. While Harry was given a darker shade of forest green and a gold version of Severus' jewelry. Voldemort was happily dressed in something a bit more substantial that was the color of dark blood, sporting a silver rope necklace with several nice pendants. 

Both Harry and Severus had managed to limit how much jewelry they were forced into but couldn't escape wearing a rather elaborate necklace and bracelet set. They got around the accompanying rings via their Lordship rings and the matching anklets by pointing out they wouldn't fit over the dragon hide boots. All three of them were thankful that there wasn't time to have the chosen clothes elaborately embroidered with gold and silver thread. As a result the tailors went with the simple yet elegant look that had them resembling Asian muggle martial artists. Eventually they were declared fit to see the king, if only barely and escorted to the audience chamber for their first royal appearance, with the second to happen later that afternoon with the muggle British Queen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ideas on the goblin court would be nice since I'm inclined to either skim over it or base it around a weird version of the labyrinth movie and Fae courts. Of course I could always shift it to a private audience, those always go oddly/differently than a full court appearance.
> 
>  **FYI - First Aid:** The method used to stabilize and help Voldemort was _not_ , I repeat **_Not_** correct first aid or medical procedure. I apologize to anyone in the medical field who reads this for getting that screwed up.
> 
> Thanks to Shoezy who reminded me to make a note about that. Better late then never!


	6. Courtly Vists and Malicious Vases

The audience with the King of the Goblins went surprisingly well. The elven man didn't dance around the subject nor did he demand anything except the blunt truth of the situation and their intentions. Apparently when the bank building accepted Harry's memories it was magically decided that all three of them had effectively been adopted by the goblin race and thus were accorded the status of honorary goblin. This allow them to converse without resorting to inane courtly pleasantries that conveyed nothing of value, nor did they have to suffer through attempts to trick them into giving up their first born or something similar. 

To say that King Jareth was displeased at the recent developments was an understatement but he did indicate that the mess of their accounts would be sorted out. He also promised that an additional goblin crafted item would be added to their vaults free of charge in recompense. He also requested to be kept abreast of the situation and any complications they might encounter via Gringotts. The trio of wizards very politely agreed to do so without actually promising anything, all three having remembered old stories about the Fae, and were peacefully escorted back out. 

What really surprised them was that they were asked to take a gift and a message to the English Queen since Jareth had been informed of their next appointment. Harry agreed without thinking about it and earned glares from his two Slytherin companions along with a sly smile from the Goblin King before they were whisked away. When Harry realized they would be facing the tailors _again_ he tried to slip out a side door. Neither of his Slytherin companions were willing to let him get away with that and nabbed him before hissing at him to suck it up just before they were descended upon and dressed for their second royal audience of the day.

They were forced into elegant dress robes of Acromantula silk that shifted colors depending upon how the light hit the fabric beginning with a near black shade and shifting to a deep shade of Midnight Blue, Dark Green, and Dark Red respectively. Both Snape and Voldemort admired how the green shading brought out Harry's eyes, enhancing them into a jewel-like brilliance. This effect was mirrored with Voldemort's own red eyes and color shift red robe. 

The Dark Lord's hair had continued to grow from the fuzz it had become when he convulsed in the conference room until it reached the same length that Harry remembered from fighting the diary Horcrux in his second year. The only difference between 16 year old Tom Riddle and this current Voldemort that Harry could see now that the man's hair had stopped growing was the ruby red eyes. With a mental groan the young Gryffindor did his best _not_ to notice how shockingly handsome his long time enemy now looked. 

Seeing him fully dressed for the audience with the Queen of England, Harry decided that if he had to kill the man again he would have one hell of a time doing it. Sane, charming, handsome, and with a magical core that could bring _Dumbledore_ to a stand still. Yeah, killing him just got one hell of a lot harder. Harry _prayed_ that he never had to make the attempt in this timeline.

Snape on the other hand was forced into the elegant color shift Midnight Blue/Black robes, scowling the entire time and fighting the urge to hex the tailors. The Potions Master was the one that got them out of being practically buried under jewelry the tailors wanted to load them down with. Both Voldemort and Potter were exceedingly greatful for this even as they fought not to laugh at the way the dour man caused the tailors to back away from them slowly, quaking in terror. It was this last straw that finally got Filkor to rescue them from the aggressive tailors and ushered into room with the packaged royal gift already firmly attached to a rope portkey. A reminder was given to remove the portkey rope from the present before they gave it to the muggle English Queen. Before Harry could ask what the present was or if they could use a different form of travel the portkey activated, landing them just outside the castle, right in front of an undercover Auror.

"What took you so long?" The undercover Auror guard hissed at them as he quickly escorted them into the castle to the private audience with the Queen of England.

"Gringotts is sovereign territory and we had a prior invitation to attend the Goblin King," Severus shot back with cool disdain, leaving the man speechless as they swept past the man forcing the man to scramble in front of them to finish leading the way. The room they were led to told them with its relative lack of people that this was a private audience though they were still uncertain as to whether this was an official private audience or simply a private meeting.

"Why have you kept Us waiting?" The Queen asked imperiously. They looked at one another silently agreeing that it was an official private audience and that Voldemort should probably take the lead.

"We were in goblin sovereign territory and the Goblin King also demanded an audience, Majesty," Voldemort said softly. "It is never wise to offend one of the Fey muchless one born of Royal blood and in line for the High King's throne. Thankfully no human has yet ever offered a great enough offense for them to declare war. All three of us mostly grew up in muggle areas, as such we know of you and what you mean to most of the residents of Great Britain."

"Very well, you may approach," She told them after a moment's consideration, gesturing them forwards. 

They did as instructed ignoring the obviously uneasy undercover wizards and witches almost as much as they ignored the muggle security personnel. Until Harry's gaze snagged on a displayed vase they were passing and caused him to pause. The other two took two more steps before realizing that he wasn't with them and turning to see what had caught his attention, putting the security forces on edge. Once the two Slytherins focused on the vase they realized something was wrong with it, making them uneasy.

"Harry?" Voldemort asked softly as they all eyed the vase, making the security personnel very uneasy.

"Evacuate the building!" Harry ordered quietly, causing Snape to nod sharply and whirl around to face the other occupants of the room. Voldemort drew his wand and started tossing up containment wards alongside Harry as they worked almost seamlessly in unison, shifting without thought between English, Latin, and Parseltongue.

"What are you doing?! Stop that!" The Queen ordered sharply.

"Madame we need to evacuate the building. Whatever Lord Potter uncovered I guarantee that it is not good and will likely kill everyone. When he says something is dangerous then we likely need to double the normal precautions at minimum," Snape tried to explain. 

"Evacuate the goddamn building now! I'll try to keep it contained while you both get everyone clear and call for a team of curse breakers from Gringotts," Harry ordered. He could feel a building magical flair in the vase and shoved Voldemort out of the warding sending him sprawling in the process and taking the full magical burden of powering them just as the magical signature shifted.

"Time?" Voldemort demanded, deciding that he would punish the brat later for stealing the containment wards out from under him as he climbed back to his feet.

"Not enough _with_ magic, nowhere damn near enough without. Portkeys and Apparation shouldn't trigger it further but we could use a full mile cordon and evacuation beyond the edge of the grounds. I'll settle for getting everyone _off_ the grounds," Harry growled out as his glare at the vase intensified and sweat began beading his brow. 

"You wont be able to hold it if it reacts to the flair of transport magic," Voldemort pointed out acidly as the magical undercover security started transporting people out. Seeing the evacuation already underway he rapidly began making contact trigger portkeys and tossing them at the people in the room.

"I will if I sacrifice a decade of my own life or a pint of blood," Harry shot back, eyes never leaving the innocent looking vase and thus never seeing how the other magic users in the room blanched.

"You will do no such thing!" Snape snarled at him as he turned from the rapid magical evacuation to see how Harry was holding up. He swore low under his breath as he saw the sweat pouring off of the teen and rapidly soaking his robes through.

"Severus, repeat after me and obey what the magic tells you. We're going to use a standard supporting chant so make sure to focus on the brat _not_ the vase," Voldemort ordered and upon receiving Snape's sharp nod of acknowledgement started chanting. " _potentiam in societatem vitae defensio_ "

The dour potions master listened closely to the chant and joined on the second repetition of the round as they each placed a single hand on Harry's back pouring their own magic into the young lord. Harry worked feverishly to contain whatever nasty thing or magic was encased in the vase, hardly noticing when the other two started pouring their power into him in support. By the time that the curse breaking team got there all three of them were exhausted and collapsed the moment that the wards were lifted from Harry's control. The last thing that Harry saw was a team of nearly twenty curse breakers set up a second set of containment wards while someone rushed over to check the three of them.

Harry woke with a quiet groan as he tried not to move his aching body. He felt battered beyond belief and groggily wondered if Vernon had finally gotten around to hiring that group of thugs to try and beat him to death that Harry had been threatened with since he was 6. A nearby low moan of pain made that scenario unlikely while the second voice swearing softly that he recognized as Snape's made it far more likely that something had gone wrong during potions class. Vaguely he hoped that the damage wasn't too bad but doubted it considering that the snarky man was still quietly swearing nearby.

"I know you're awake." Snape practically snarled. "What the devil did you think you were doing?! That vase had lain dormant for over 300 years and you just had to try and contain it when we could have simply called in a curse breaker team!"

Vase? What vase? What was the man talking abou... oh. _That_ vase. Harry's mind cleared as his more recent memories came back. He tried to force his eyes open to attempt to take in his surroundings giving it up a moment later as a bad job with another groan, this time laced with frustration.

"Apparently it was tired of sleeping because it woke up when we walked into the room," Harry shot back through a moan of pain that made Snape's snarkiness very understandable if he had the same kind of splitting headache that teen was experiencing. "My head is killing me. It might even be worse than that time that Ron and I got drunk after his parents were killed."

"I remember having to clean up after the two of you and put you both to bed," Snape responded sourly, a hiss of pain just barely escaping his phenomenal control.

"Shut up. Let me recover from the backlash in peace!" Voldemort snapped loud enough to send all three of them into another round of painful groaning, drawing the attention of the Healer.

"Ah, good, you're awake," A cheerful voice greeted their attempt at consciousness sending all three once more into moans of pain. "You boys are lucky to be alive after passing out in the middle of a half formed ward structure like that. The curse breaking team was impressed, especially since after you all passed out it finished forming on its own and shrunk into a self contained ball of magic around whatever you were trying to keep trapped. I'd love to give you guys something for the pain but we were warned off giving you anything by the Gringotts team, something to do with how they had to remove you from the containment wards causing problems. Apparently this happens to all curse breakers at one point or another so you'll just have to suffer for the next hour or so from the magical hangover left over from the backlash. The team will be in shortly to talk to you about whatever you were trying to contain. They also said something about finding out who's bright idea out of you apprentices it was to try something like this and yelling at them but... Well, any way you guys just go back to sleeping it off."

A moment later they heard the footsteps that indicated the appallingly cheerful voice was blessedly going _away_ from them just as the pain eased. Not once had any of them bothered trying to open their eyes, unwilling to subject their already aching heads to the extra stimulation that adding a new sense to the mix would have provided. A moment later they heard the flap of canvas opening and shutting indicating that they were probably in a tent somewhere which matched the fact that Harry noticed he was lying on a cot of some kind.

"When we get out of here I'm locking you up somewhere that you can't possibly get into trouble for the remainder of your very short life!" Snape hissed in the direction he had deduced the reckless Gryffindor to be in from the brat's earlier comment.

"Didn't work out to well last time," Harry responded with a watery chuckle, tears of pain having just stopped leaking from his eyes.

"Last time we had other concerns, this time I have you right where I want you and I'm far more willing to take drastic action," Snape snarked as he fumed over the characteristic impertinence from the younger wizard.

"I take it since our pain is abating that the containment wards Potter used were unusual or it has something to do with the three of us specifically. Because I can think of no other reason for the two of you to be arguing like this considering how much pain and backlash we've been subjected too," Voldemort commented in irritation as the pain suddenly eased by what felt like an order of magnitude or two. 

Harry ignored both of them to focus on listening to the commotion he could hear getting closer to where ever they were. From the sounds whatever was being argued over was either going to be turned over to whoever had arrived to claim it or people were going to start drawing wands shortly. Then he caught his name in the argument and mentally groaned. They were arguing over _him_. Sometimes he really hated his life. It didn't take long for their tent to be invaded and for dread to start forming an icy ball in Harry's stomach as he recognized Dumbledore's voice.

"He is a minor and I am his magical guardian. He will be treated at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said frostily from the other side of the canvas and somewhere near the place that the Healer had left the tent.

"They can not be moved! I don't give a flying fuck if you're the Queen of England or Merlin! They haven't recovered from the weird ward that they scrambled to put in place and contain that bloody vase!" Some male voice argued. "In point of fact I had to turn away the Queen more than once already!"

"Do you know who I am?" Dumbledore's voice was cold as ice.

"Yeah, and I don't care. You want them moved? Talk to my goblin supervisor but I can guarantee you that they wont be moving, even for a goddam emergency for at least 3 days because of instability in their magical cores. An instability which could kill them. Then they'll still be flat out on their backs for another week because of the splitting headache. If they're not still unconscious then I sure as hell want to know what they did different because they should be _dead_ not simply unconscious." The voice argued angrily back. "That kid took the brunt of it too. You want him dead? We took a bloody risk even moving them this far! That vase contained an ancient curse designed specifically for the complete _genocide_ of every living thing in a 200 mile radius!"

The utter shock that silenced everyone inside and outside the tent was palpable. Apparently no one had bothered to tell the curse breaking team what curse the vase actually contained.

"How are we still alive?" Harry recognized the hesitant voice of their Healer even though he could clearly hear the paleness that now permeated it.

"I don't know. All I know is that whoever noticed the damn thing caught it just before it triggered. They didn't contain a potentially active dangerous artifact. Instead they stopped a genocidal curse designed to turn everything in a 200 mile radius into a death zone, knocking the curse flat and forcing it back into its container. The only way I can think of for them to have done that and survived is if that kid is insanely powerful and the threat triggered his inheritance early since none of them are dead despite the drained cores. To top it off the magical signature we managed to pull off that vase matches ancient Goblin records of one Morgan La Fey. Guardian or not, High muckety-muck or not, those three aren't going _anywhere_!" The man's angry voice clearly conveyed the finality of this declaration.

"Fuck!" Harry said despairingly as he thumped his head hard against his pillow.

"Well if you did come into your inheritance early we wont have to try and find somewhere to bleed off the extra power when your body hits its 17th birthday," Voldemort pointed out reasonably as Snape simply growled his frustration at the risks Harry kept taking and the danger he routinely faced.

"Never the less..." Dumbledore started only to be cut off by the same man again.

"NO! One of the reasons for the unstable core is that they're still connected to the containment wards! They die and the wards they put up fail, loosing the curse. The only people who can safely get near them are muggles and certain specially certified healers. Congratulations, you nearly killed the entire country with your stubbornness. Now _get out_ ," The curse breaker said coldly as Harry listened to the man's teammates mutter angrily, closing ranks between Dumbledore's group and the tent the three of them were lying in. 

The sounds of a decent sized group apparating away and the dispersing Gringotts team had the three relaxing and trying, warily, to open their eyes. What they saw was rather what they expected to see from the sounds they had heard in the last five minutes. They were lying in narrow camp cots and covered in blankets. The canvas of the tent and the matching proportion of light to shadow for what must be outside the tent told them that they were in a muggle tent, a large one at that. All of them were decked out in hospital gowns despite being practically buried under piles of blankets.

Their eyes were drawn to the tent flap as two men entered, one auburn haired and about 5'6" with a fairly normal build wearing the robes of a Healer looking pale from shock. The second man simply looked tired, his light brown hair and worn features gave him the appearance of being older than he probably was. Dressed in blue robes and about an inch taller than the Healer he gave an air of power and competence.

"So you really are awake," The tired voice of the wizard had them all wondering what else the man had been forced to deal with. "How much of that mess did you lot hear?"

"Are we really still connected to the wards on the vase and does it really have such a nasty curse on it?" Harry asked immediately, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"If your headache is gone then no, you shouldn't be connected any more. Yes, the curse and the signature are true. If it wasn't so powerful in the first place we wouldn't have managed to get a clear reading on it. As it was the signature was still degraded nearly beyond recognition. Moving you guys at all was a risk but leaving you sprawled out on the stone floor like that could have killed you. So we risked moving you somewhere safer when we figured out what had happened and you were still out cold three hours later. I wasn't kidding about you guys staying put for the next three days or the possibility of core instability, that really does happen. Standard procedure would have you confined to bed for at least a week minimum even if you hadn't passed out. For anyone else you'd be stuck getting poked and prodded for a month and then watched like a hawk by your teammates for another two months," The curse breaker explained. "The wards that you guys put up are nowhere near normal and contain enough power to have kept back the sea for all of Atlantis for 2 or 3000 years by Goblin estimates. Its one of the reasons we think that Mr. Potter came into his inheritance early."

"It would also explain why none of you are dead," The Healer pointed out quietly. "Not only are none of you dead but I found evidence of broken binding spells, loyalty spells, and compulsion spells on all three of you. A few of them appear to have been broken prior to this but the shear amount of power that was applied had the last remnants disintegrating even as I examined you moments after the three of you passed out. Until moments ago I thought the power dumped into the unconventional wards was due to the breaking of the bindings and the surge of power from the magical inheritance. Now... apparently your magic decided there was need so it woke fully and broke free to contain the threat."

"Lovely," Harry said sourly, not really surprised that yet another extraordinary thing happened to him.

"So, how did you form those wards?" The curse breaker asked, keenly interested even if he might never be able to use the technique because of power requirements.

"I didn't. I noticed the vase and realized it needed to be contained. They just sort of flowed out of me," Harry said in a tone of complete aggravation.

"Instinctive mastery of ancient magics... At least we now know why you qualify to hold the title of Dark Lord. I earned it the old fashioned way with years of study and hard work," Voldemort said in an equally aggrieved tone.

"Er, actually my scar was burning the whole time sooo... it might be less an instinctive mastery and more transferance of _your_ mastery," Harry pointed out sheepishly before switching to horrifyingly cheerful. "But you might be an instinctive master of ancient _light_ magic, it would explain why the centaur called you Light Lord before admitting that we both earned both of the titles."

"Would you please explain?" The Healer asked pointedly, barely keeping a glare from his face.

"I'm his human horcrux, the other pieces of his soul sort of healed back into place except for one when we came back in time," Harry told them cheerfully making both of them pale at the implications and causing Snape to growl at the release of such sensitive information.

"I will be hexing you once I have my wand and my strength back," Voldemort warned in a pleasant tone of voice that held a knife's edge.

"Uh, I'm kind of hard to kill and you wont die unless I die," Harry said pointedly.

"Shut up brat!" Snape snapped at him, glaring the Potter Lord into submission.

"Fine," Harry sulked as their visitors stared at them, wondering if they were insane for a variety of different reasons.

"This is out of my pay scale. Let me consult my supervisor. In the meantime let Jerry look you over and please _try_ not to terrorize him?" The curse breaker asked in a pained tone of voice. The three bed ridden wizards looked at him and nodded their agreement allowing him to leave as they suffered through another examination.


	7. Meeting the Queen

_Jerry_ kept them in the tent and on bed rest for nearly two weeks and in that time they were surrounded by a virtual army of both muggle and goblin security. The upside was that neither Dumbledore nor any of his order members could get anywhere near them while they were still vulnerable. Nagini even visited them before opting to take the portkey Voldemort had created and been carrying specifically for her back to the Riddle House.

True to his word the moment Voldemort had his wand in hand and the healer had okayed minimal magical use he hexed the Potter Lord. Harry was a little indignant over the choice of hex but thought it was better to suffer through multicolored skin and hair for a couple of days than need to recover from a _crucio_. Besides it made Snape give a small smile before the expression disappeared behind a disapproving scowl over Harry's recklessness. The subsequent meeting with the Queen didn't go as smoothly.

This time when the goblins insisted on making them new robes to replace the destroyed ones for their replacement audience with the Queen the three of them just grumbled. It was when Severus overheard the style that the tailors were arguing over that the potions master got an idea. It took less than a moment to idly suggest battle cut robes while considering just how much it might have helped had they been dressed for the situation. Never mind that no one had honestly thought they would be doing any combat or curse breaking. The tailors practically jumped on the suggestion, which earned the smirking man a greatful look from Voldemort.

Harry was still sulking over the need for another tortuous session with the tailors that the other two had forced him to attend as they smirked at him when they were finally presented to the Queen three hours later. Admittedly Harry had gotten in a return jab or two by commenting on the possibility that the two Slytherins might look good in pink or bright orange but no one took his comments seriously. Though his commentary did earn him appalled and dirty looks from his audience.

As they walked through the door to the same meeting hall as the first time Harry pulled himself back together, projecting as polite and adult an air as possible with him in a 14 year old body. They presented a regal if polite unified front as they entered the hall to once more stand before the British Muggle Queen. Bowing as protocol demanded they waited for the inquisition to begin, knowing that if they weren't careful the very war they were trying to prevent would begin before the sun had set.

"I would like an explanation as both myself and as the Royal Monarch but I think you have more than earned the right to speak to me before we decide what my royal self is officially told," The Queen said quietly as she observed the three wizards arrayed before her, making a very clear distinction between the Queen and the woman behind the crown. All three having worn their own public masks for years relaxed a bit, wholeheartedly understanding what she had just told them.

"If we are to dispense with the formalities, your majesty, we should probably present the Goblin King's gift first. We have no idea what it is or why it was sent with us rather than someone who actually represents the Goblins," Harry cautioned as he presented her with an ornate chest wrapped in finely woven cloth. She graciously accepted it and they all watched as she first unwrapped it before pulling a key out of its disguised setting. With a soft smile she opened the chest to reveal several superbly woven blankets of an Acromantula silk and cotton mix with the Windsor Crest displayed boldly.

"I asked that they see these commissioned and delivered. I did not, however, expect my royal cousin to have them delivered in such a fashion or even to take note of the request that the commission be done through Gringotts. I suppose it was his fey nature coming out, wanting to play a harmless joke," The Queen mused, honest joy lighting up her face.

"I wouldn't know, majesty. I am just a simple wizard," Harry told her, glad that she was both alright and that their delivery wasn't some horrible insult. Snape couldn't resist snorting at the "simple wizard" comment earning a glare from the teen and a snarky revision of his statement aimed at the potions master. "Alright, so I'm not exactly normal but at least I don't go to the extremes that Aunt Petunia does."

"Brat, you are a trouble magnet. What you are is anything but simple," Severus snarked back.

"Gentlemen, we are in the presence of a lady who no doubt will have little patience with us if the two of begin insulting one another yet _again_ ," Voldemort warned, earning brief looks of contrition from both before they returned to the situation at hand.

"Yes, I suppose we should return to business," The Queen said with a sigh as she closed the chest and handed it off to a retainer. "Now, what exactly is going on and why did half my security detail receive a warning to hide from those of my subjects who do not possess magic?"

"Er, that is probably my fault," Harry admitted sheepishly.

"Giving the memories to the Gringotts bank building was your fault, the entire time travel mess and the deal that started it belongs to both of us," Voldemort pointed out with an eye roll. "I honestly thought that I would be the only one sent back and that I would be trying to out argue a younger version of myself, not... whatever this has become."

"Start from the beginning and please use small words so that we don't get mired in theory and technical details," The Queen ordered as she settled in to listen to the story. 

It took more than an hour to summarize events and the needed background to properly understand them, including their titles and standing within the wizarding world. In that time none of them were aware that Dumbledore was using several of the tracking devices specifically tuned to Harry and several stolen sets of plans of the palace to make his way towards them. Their first warning was when the door and the wall around it was blasted into the hall-like room with Dumbledore, Tonks, and Moody quickly entering the room behind the blast.

"Sorry to intrude I'm just retrieving my wayward ward," Dumbledore said cheerfully, with pieces of the wall and door falling to the ground behind him from being blasted, before turning to Harry. "Come now Harry we need to be going."

"No," Harry said firmly as the trio of time traveling wizards shifted to face him, presenting a united front even as they flanked the young lord. Everyone ignored the Queen and her staff, trusting the magical members to catch any stray spellfire if the situation erupted into an all out duel. Tonks and Moody stood near the new larger doorway and shifted uneasily both from the location and the unknown wizard standing next to Harry and Snape.

"Enough playing, my boy. We must get you back to the school," Dumbledore said stoically as he reached out his hand towards Harry as if to grab him which the young Lord avoided by casually stepping back out of the Headmaster's reach. The two Aurors gave a second quick scan of the room, noting who had a wand and the standard defenses the magical staff had taken.

"I'm not your boy and I'm certainly not your weapon, not any more," Harry told him coldly, green eyes beginning to glow with power as he drew upon his magic in preparation for casting wandlessly. "I followed your damn plan exactly the last time around and it got most of the wizarding world, not to mention a good chunk of the muggle world, _slaughtered_. I'm not doing it again!"

"I see that we will have trouble reminding you that _this_ is reality, not some random scenario you've dreamed up," Dumbledore said sadly, trying to give their royal audience the idea that Harry was disturbed.

"Its hardly a dream or a delusion Albus," Snape drawled as he surreptitiously drew his wand, dreading the clearly inevitable duel and hoping that the two order members would stay out of it when the spells started flying.

"You know we eventually found out about your time with Grindelwald," Harry said conversationally, his eyes taking on a hard cast as he casually drew his wand. "Interesting stuff, finding out that the two of you were lovers and that the two of you _helped **Hitler**_ of all people. It upset a lot of people and cost us almost all of the people who lived in the muggle world. Anyone who had any connection to the wizarding world was being literally torn apart in the streets. We lost a lot of muggleborn children that way. Do you have any idea the nightmares someone gets when they are forced to watch their own child ripped apart in front of them and then force fed the remains? Or what it does to their _magic_?"

"Please tell me this is a scare tactic for him?" Snape begged, his pale skin taking on a gray-green tinge. If it was a scare tactic than Potter had gone too far and the status of that scenario needed to be cleared up immediately. When Tonks heard that the entire room heard her retch along with some of the security staff as the sound echoed around the room, even the scarred and battered _Mad-eye Moody_ looked horrified and ill at the thought.

"You were busy finding a solution to that magical plague that some idiot had let loose and was decimating both sides. That one that you stopped and finally won us the treaty with. Voldemort was already dead," Harry explained, his gaze unflinching as he momentarily met the potion master's horrified gaze. Voldemort bit back bile and forced himself not to retch along with most of the room as he watched Dumbledore's suddenly granite expression, there was no horror, no remorse, no pity in that man's watery blue gaze only a quickly hidden glimmer of satisfaction.

"You knew," Voldemort accused, his own horror breaking through the Dark Lord facade of menacing blankness that he had been maintaining. "You _knew_ that it would be worse when they found out about Grindelwald and Hitler!"

"Of course I didn't, Tom. Don't be ridiculous!" Dumbledore said gently as if chastising a small child.

"You will explain this to us," The Queen demanded, using all of her considerable royal presence to try and break the focus between the four powerful wizards.

"I'm afraid that your little delusion has gone on long enough Harry. Its time that we returned to the school," Dumbledore said, once more ignoring their audience and trying his concerned guardian/headmaster ploy again even as he raised the Elder wand before assuming a dueling stance. A flip of Harry's wrist was all it took to disarm the man, returning the Deathstick to his ownership.

"Can I have the stone _now_?" Harry demanded of Voldemort, completely ignoring Dumbledore and the dumbstruck look on his face at being so easily disarmed.

"Did that really happen?" Voldemort asked quietly, still fighting not to be sick. Harry looked at him shrewdly before giving a jerky nod and refusing to meet his or Snape's eyes.

"The nightmares... the _nightmares_ ," Snape said horrified, staring at Harry as the younger man reverted to the classic teen shuffle and pretended to examine his newly won wand. Severus breathed deeply as he forced his emotions back behind his Occlumency shields, then clarity hit. Harry hadn't been worried about surviving the vase because he was still having _nightmares_ that had carried over from the other timeline. They were damn lucky he hadn't turned to self harm or suicide for relief with how many horrors Harry had seen in his life. 

"From now on you will be sleeping in either the same room as one of us or next door and if you even _think_ of using a silencing charm so that we are undisturbed when you have a nightmare you will wish that you had never been _born_. Is that perfectly clear?" Voldemort threatened, beating Snape to the punch almost the same moment the man opened his mouth to order the exact same thing.

"And if I decide to ignore those oh so concerned instructions?" Harry drawled insolently, pocketing both wands with a studied casualness that incensed both dark haired men.

"Then we will find out _exactly_ how furious Miss. Granger, Molly Weasley, Minerva McGonagall, Madame Pomfrey, _Luna Lovegood_ , and the _Weasley twins_ will be over your disregard for personal _health_ ," Snape drawled menacingly, taking a certain amount of glee in watching the troublesome brat pale. Snape loved the lack of muscle memory that made Harry's 14 year old body _much_ easier to read than the previous twenty-something body from the other timeline.

"Explain," The Queen ordered, completely fed up, this time bringing the little known magical aspect and pressure of her position to bear on the wizards before her. The magic immediately dropped Dumbledore to his knees and startling the dark-haired trio into remembering where they were, while granting them the right to remain on their feet.

"The three of us have been fighting a very long time your majesty, and we have seen things that would put the worst horror movies to shame. Unfortunately, we also have been unable to speak with anyone about these horrors and the subsequent nightmares which spawned from them. As the youngest and the one who has seen the most of these horrors my companions are naturally concerned," Harry explained, careful not to give any indication that the horrors he spoke of were not only those from the battlefield.

"It would help tremendously if someone had thought to get you counseling for the dangerous incidents that occurred while you were in school," Snape growled, mentally kicking himself for not thinking of it before now.

"Madam, all three of us are mentally stable but such wounds, emotional, mental, and physical need time to heal. Time that we do not have if we want to avoid a bloodbath worse than the Second World War and Hitler's attempts at genocide," Voldemort said softly, still eying Dumbledore for all that he was addressing the Queen. "We can not even speak to other veterans of the conflicts we experienced as we are no longer in our original timeline. Lord Potter managed to repair some of the damage to that timeline before arriving here but the three of us don't know if we managed to save it. The deal that was struck gave us a chance to save our people and possibly those who have no magical heritage but it also means we can never go back. This is our home now and we have merged with the younger versions of ourselves to try and avert disaster on all fronts. Our only goal at this point is to save as many lives as possible. If we can reform wizarding Britain to make the possibility of such a disaster needing to be averted again in another hundred years less likely then we will try. Yet as with any major reform or attempt to change the status quo there will always be those who fight the change with every tool they have, including violence."

"Tom you really shouldn't tell such lies," Dumbledore said darkly, his grandfatherly mask finally starting to crack for all that he was still stuck on his knees under the force of the magical royal presence.

"Yet We do not hear you offering counter statements and facts, nor did We ask for your opinion. Leave Us!" The Queen ordered, putting the full force of her will behind the command and magically tossing Dumbledore, Tonks, and Moody from the castle grounds into the Thames.

"That was... odd," Harry said, staring at the spot where moment's before Dumbledore had stood.

"That was the Queen using the wards to toss out intruders. Most old pure-blood family homes have that feature, I just didn't realize someone had adapted it and added it to the old wards on _Buckingham Palace_ ," Voldemort admitted, gleeful over seeing Dumbledore tossed out on his arse.

"The wizarding world is still under Our rule for all that the Ministry of Magic normally runs the day to day operations," The Queen explained, clearly still in the royal mode she had assumed when Dumbledore arrived. "It is rare that troubles among my magical subjects need Us to intervene yet it is also clear that We have been _lied_ to about the state of our magical subjects. We thank you for bringing the situation to Our attention."

"Does this mean we can let someone else deal with the mess?" Harry asked Voldemort.

"No," Voldemort said sourly. "It was a personal magical deal with three higher powers and is in many ways similar to an unbreakable vow except that we aren't fully aware of the cost or conditions. Until Death, Lady Magic, and Lady Fate either release us or declare the deal satisfied we are not only personally responsible for the outcome but obligated to try and achieve the stipulated conditions."

"Well, that's just great. They didn't exactly spell out those _conditions_ to us," Harry groused before allowing his shoulders to slump in defeat. "Maybe this will count as gathering resources and acceptable help."

"Doubtful," Snape said almost sympathetically. "Remember they literally made you king in the other timeline."

"Don't remind me!" Harry moaned. "That was a shock to wake up to and Hermione's lectures were an absolute nightmare!"

"Will you attempt to take the throne?" The Queen asked sharply, reminding the three where they were and that they had an important audience.

"Not if I can help it!" Harry told her vehemently. "I didn't want the job in the other timeline muchless in this one!"

"We may not have a choice about either becoming publicly known or establishing a magical monarchy," Voldemort growled in frustration. "Its simply something we _don't know_."

"And if you discover this to be the case and fail to accomplish it?" The Queen asked tensely.

"Then the reaction could be anything from nothing happening to only the three of us dying horribly to the complete and utter destruction of this timeline along with the death of everyone on the planet," Snape answered in his dark silky voice. "We simply don't know and directly contacting the other parties in this deal is... impractical."

"Actually, I have an idea on that front but it still requires that stone I keep bugging Voldemort about," Harry said thoughtfully. "Or at least I'll be able to talk to Death about all of this, whether he'll answer our questions is another thing entirely."

"Is this another one of your insane stunts that I keep hearing about?" Voldemort asked flatly.

"I don't actually try to get into those situations," Harry shot back. "Besides its not like I have access to Hermione to help me see where it all went screwy... *groan* I just realized that since we decided to skip out right after the end of the third task Hermione and Ron are going to _kill_ me. Provided Dumbledore didn't convince them that I'm just a little bit soft in the head and need to be controlled or something for _the Greater Good_ I'm going to get lectured over this."

"Perhaps if such extraordinary things didn't not happen to you so often you would not be on the receiving end of a lecture the next time Miss. Granger gets her hands on you," Severus said with an obvious smirk of pleasure.

"You actually don't have room to talk since as soon as they stop panicking over my teaming up with the two of you, you'll be subject to the same lectures as Ron and the twins when they _encourage_ me," Harry shot back sarcastically, wiping away Snape's smirk and causing the man to grimace in acknowledgement.

"Simply put we need more information and a chance to catch our breath," Voldemort summarized, cutting off the discussion before it went into yet another unneeded tangent.

"Very well, We expect to be kept apprised of the situation and of the need for any additional resources or support," The Queen instructed them, her face grim at the thought of what could happen if things went poorly.

"Thank you, your majesty, we will take our leave and do our best to keep you apprised of the situation," Severus said politely as they bowed to her and left, apparating away to the house that the goblins had provided for them.

"Richard? Kindly contact Gringotts with a request on muggle/magical Lordships and their effects on granting a Peerage for services to the crown. We need more information on how the Lordships are set up and if Knighting someone or otherwise granting them a title will effect anything, especially with those three involved. I would also like to read the dossier on their lives thus far and after this audience I have no doubt that my royal cousin will want to see it as well. See to it," The Queen ordered, receiving a quiet nod of acknowledgement before taking herself off to find some supper.


	8. Plotting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Of_Stories_Told for her suggestion which made it into this chapter. Enjoy!  
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The trio of dark haired wizards arrived with a series of sharp cracks only for the smallest to start a slow tumble toward the ground that was halted mid-fall by his companions. They quickly made their way into the non-descript building in front of them, half carrying Harry. None of them were surprised about the size or opulence of the interior though it did earn a funny face from Harry as he half-leaned against Voldemort when they entered the front hallway.

"Did you notice that he thought the wand he summoned this time was the same one he took from the Headmaster at Hogwarts?" Snape asked out of the blue as they tiredly stood in the entry way examining their latest abode having sent Harry toward the bedrooms to rest.

"Yes, he must still be exhausted or he's suffering from confusion left over from helping to contain the vase," Voldemort agreed worriedly. "Of course it didn't help that Dumbledore had this new one looking just like the Elder wand. Possibly he transfigured the outside to look identical so as to prevent anyone from realizing he had been disarmed so easily. It wasn't like it was obvious to most of the people present that Harry had summoned his wand and it was fairly dark at the time. Unless he somehow managed to steal it while we rested, which I wouldn't put past him."

"Where did he put the first wand any way?" Snape asked out of distracted curiosity.

"I believe he originally wrapped it up in the cloak. Recent events are one of the reasons I keep telling him no about the stone, completely aside from the fact I haven't had a chance to retrieve it in the first place," Voldemort said thoughtfully. "We should probably check to make sure it wasn't stolen... I suppose that this could be some sort of strange time paradox or that Death had two wands floating around but I find that unlikely. Either way both wands belong to Harry now."

"Yes, the switch in allegiance was fairly clear," Snape said with a grimace.

"Oh the wood is Elder alright, it just has a core of Veela Hair and was transfigured to look like the other wand," Harry told them, poking his head around the edge of the bedroom doorway, grinning like a loon at them. "I checked it after I checked the other wand. I thought it was weird that there were two of them and I was pretty sure that Dumbledore wouldn't want to compromise his image by people knowing that he needed to go out of the country to get a new wand. Ollivander wont use some things to make his wands, he commented on it during the wand weighing ceremony before the first task. Its a close enough match that I honestly thought I was taking back Death's wand _again_ rather than one he had just bought."

"Bed brat! Or I will force a sleeping potion down your ungrateful throat," Snape ordered in exasperation.

Harry waved cheekily before tiredly returning to his room and the deliciously comfy bed within. It wasn't long before he was quickly drawn into a strange psychedelic nightmare that had Dumbledore dressed in hot pink and lime colored shroud-like robes and cackling. What really disturbed the teen was the fact that the old man was caressing an image of the Elder wand and calling it _my sweetling_ while there were replica wands proudly displayed taking up every inch of wall space. At least the man hadn't been calling it _my precious_ while hunched over it dressed in a rag-like loin cloth, mimicking the scene in the Hobbit. The two older wizards waited until the special health monitoring ward they had asked be cast and secretly keyed to Harry on their new residence told them he was mostly asleep before continuing their conversation in the sitting room.

"Severus, I have some... concerns," Voldemort said, delicately picking up his just served cup of tea provided by the house elf that came with their new residence.

"Which concerns, my lord?" Snape asked cautiously as he mentally reviewed the major issues that had come to light since the third task.

"Concerns, in part, over your actions towards Potter," Voldemort said carefully, completely blindsiding Snape, who blinked at him in owlish surprise. "I want to make it very clear that while I have entrusted him to your care the very fact that he carries a piece of my soul means he will _never_ leave mine. You gave up your chance to walk away, probably in a misguided attempt to protect him."

"I..." Severus stammered before being cut off.

"You have tied yourself to both of us in such a way that you will never be free of either of us," Voldemort said bluntly. "If you decide to try and bed him or to do anything else with him, keep in mind that I will exert my authority when and where I choose. I am not blind and if you succeed in courting him I will be taking my due, from both of you. Have I made myself clear?"

"You intend to participate in any _relationship_ that Potter might develop?" Severus asked cautiously, gaining a confirming nod from the man he had sworn his loyalty to as a teenager. "I will keep that in mind. Might I also suggest you take this up with him? To avoid... accidents?"

"Oh, I will," Voldemort assured him with an evil smirk fixed firmly in place as he took a sip of his own tea. "If he decides to be difficult I will simply have to prove my sincerity. You have already passed most of the tests that any other possible suitors must defeat. I will allow the situation to move at Harry's pace but my patience is not infinite."

"I take it then that I have your approval to pursue a more intimate relationship with him?" Snape asked even more cautiously, unwilling to get hexed but still needing an answer before proceeding further. Voldemort simply smirked as his ruby eyes took on a dancing mischievous light. Severus nodded his understanding and turned back to his own tea, fully aware of the extent of the warning that he had just been given.

"That said, we need wardrobes and a way to either contact my other followers or take the school. We also need to identify exactly what parts of the timeline will need to be repeated as closely as possible and what we can change," Voldemort pointed out as they began to plot, wandlessly hexing the other man's hair hot pink, following through on his earlier promise to Harry. He idly wondered when Snape would realize its implications for all that the man had accepted the earlier threat.

"As we have effectively gone public we can issue a statement via the media," Severus suggested thoughtfully, completely oblivious to his sudden hair color change. "It may, in fact bring us more support, especially if you again acknowledge that something previously went wrong and that you will be answering for it once the crisis is past. We can also point out that Lady Magic assigned this task to you specifically and that she will issue punishment as she sees fit. Legally, neither you nor Harry are currently answerable to the Ministry as the title of Lord of Magic pre-dates them with the accompanying authority and responsibilities. Issuing a public apology in print to those injured in the last war would also help and supplement your previous statement at Hogwarts though it will hardly satisfy everyone. Especially if Harry is willing to publicly vouch for you or publicly take custody of you regardless of the truth of the matter."

"I should probably call everyone at some point and explain the situation," Voldemort said with a gusty sigh. "Issuing a statement isn't a bad idea but promising remorse or punishment or retribution will cause problems later. Especially if one of us does become the ruler of magical Britain or I need to continue with my previous methods. It would also cheapen the deaths that have occurred. I suppose we could issue a statement admitting that and go more in depth as to why we were sent back. Such a statement would even be better delivered to both sides simultaneously through the media, _if_ we can be assured of an accurate rendition in a widely read publication."

"If we interview with Skeeter using a goblin written and enforced contract while offering her a shot at some very public figures we shouldn't have too much trouble," Snape said thoughtfully as a pink strand of his hair floated into his line of sight and had him suddenly going cross-eyed in disbelief, earning a mental chuckle and a smirk from Voldemort. When the potions master noticed the smirk he felt oddly relieved yet wary since as far as he knew the Dark Lord did not do pranks, especially not ones so harmless as this. Deciding it was probably safer to change it back later he tucked the wayward strand behind his ear and continued the conversation as if nothing had happened.

"We'll have to include Harry, as a result the question becomes do we wait until the three of us are fully recovered or do we simply wait until the brat wakes and drag him with us. He will not willingly draw more attention to himself without protest or lives on the line," Voldemort said thoughtfully.

"If I may? Potter... Harry, will need to speak to the media at some point, especially if we are to succeed within the apparent time limit. Even with the Deal in place there is no guarantee that we will receive any help beyond what has already been given. The fact that your naming him your heir carried over is surprising enough..."

"It didn't," Voldemort interrupted. At Snape's surprised look he clarified. "He was already the Perverell heir through a distant mutual heritage but the other heirships to my lordships are still vacant, nor does the more direct blood adoption remain. As the heir to the Perverell Lordship and the events during the death of his parents allowing for right of conquest he is my current default heir and could in theory claim one or more of my Lordships. Since he has expressed no interest in doing so it can be seen that his holding a piece of my soul and gaining Parseltongue were his claimed spoils from that night. He was barely a year and a half, my soul piece probably gave him comfort as a friend, if an odd one, while the fact that I spoke in Parseltongue that night and his likely need to understand or be understood it could have triggered that claim. To be certain we would likely have to ask Lady Magic or find some ritual to perform to check, I could be entirely wrong." 

"Its possible," Snape agreed thoughtfully. "Lucius would know more than I on the subject but with Magic, Fate, and Death directly involved I am not certain that the normal rules apply in any case."

"Then we will go to Gringotts in the morning and arrange for the interview before obtaining new wardrobes and any potion ingredients that we need," Voldemort decided firmly. "We can look into an aging potion so that neither of us feel like pedophiles if a relationship develops with the brat."

"That would be most welcome," Severus agreed, relieved. He wasn't willing to wait for the younger wizard to mature the long way and the unobtrusive scans he had tossed at the green-eyed imp had confirmed the early magical inheritance. They both lapsed into a comfortable silence as they drank their tea.

"We will have to watch his health," Voldemort commented quietly, his protective and possessive instincts urging him to find the muggles and kill them that very moment for touching what was his.

"And discover what those blasted muggles did to him," Snape said in grim agreement.

"How did we miss the nightmares? We were trapped with him within ten feet of one another for a week before any of us were fit to attend the demanded audience," Voldemort fretted.

"Accidental magic? Youthful stupidity? I certainly wouldn't put it past him to strain his core even further by putting up conditional silencing charms, accidental magic or no. We may have to resort to sleeping in the same room with him on a rotating basis," Snape admitted as he poured himself another cup of tea.

"Once we've found the muggles who hurt him they will discover exactly why it is unwise to cross me," Voldemort said darkly, Snape inclined his head in complete agreement as they once more lapsed into silence, companionably drinking their tea.

"When did you realize that you cared for him as more than a parent or protector?" Voldemort asked idly into the contented silence nearly an hour later.

"Two years after your death, my lord. He took a deep knife cut to the chest by a muggle assassin with a rare poison on the blade. It took me two days to find a cure and the only reason he survived long enough was because he was the Master of Death. His reticence afterwards gives me cause to believe that he died at least once during those two days," Snape admitted. His hands shook slightly as he poured himself another cup of tea, not noticing the sudden death grip that Voldemort had on the armrest of his chair. "I have since kept near him as much as possible but never made amorous overtures. I will admit to having chased off a few would be suitors and poisoning one stalker. Incidentally if young Miss. Weasley retains the idea she is going to marry him then we will have problems with her. Molly Weasley has quite gone out of her way to convince her daughter that Potter is a knight in shining armor destined to marry her."

"So you do intend to pursue him," Voldemort smirked. "Or rather you have been pursuing him for a while now and he simply hasn't noticed yet."

Snape hid his face in his cup of tea and behind his ridiculously pink charmed hair, unwilling to answer and giving an answer in the process. Voldemort nodded before glancing at the time and deciding to make his first move in claiming both of his roommates. Placing his cup on the table he stood and took Severus' cup, returning it to its saucer, before gently guiding the potions master to his feet. Easily hiding his mental glee at the almost non-existent resistance he guided the baffled man behind him as they headed down the hallway towards the bedrooms. Snape was on his bed and in transfigured night clothes before he could blink with Voldemort smugly trapping him in place and using him like a giant teddy bear.

"Relax Severus," Voldemort whispered to the tense man. "It wont be long before Harry joins us and I will wait for both of you to decide before anything more than sleep occurs in our bed."

"That does not reassure me my lord," Snape said stiffly. Voldemort chuckled with a deep warmth before going one step further and trapping the dour man's legs with his own.

"I warned you. Neither of you will escape me," Voldemort said with a yawn before wandlessly covering them with the coverlet and settling down to sleep. Resignedly, Snape also settled down to sleep, with one last thought he wondered how Harry would take being dragged into their bed before succumbing to the bliss of Morpheus.


	9. Supply Runs and Murphy

Harry was up before either of his housemates and somehow managed to convince the house elves to not only let him in the kitchen but help him make breakfast. Whistling while he worked the adult trapped in a teenagers body made the same spread as he would have been forced to make at the Dursleys. Wistfully he thought about how the school would be just waking up and everyone would be scrambling to gather their things for the train ride home.

Severus woke still wrapped in the arms of Voldemort, trapped on the bed, hair still pink and unusually satisfied with how well he had slept. He refused to admit to himself that it was rather nice to wake up with someone wrapped around him in bed. Though the surreal aspect of it being the _Dark Lord_ of all people definitely worried him. Very carefully he pulled himself free of the iron grip that held him trapped, wiggling more than a little bit before successfully slipping out of the bed. 

Snape quickly and quietly slipped out of the room, going in search of a bathroom where he could conceivably clean up before getting some of the delicious bacon that he could easily smell being made by the house elves. The shower was deliciously warm and the complementary soap/shampoo while not up to battling the potions residue that was perpetually in his hair was not entirely horrible as a general product. He mentally added the ingredients to make proper ones to his growing potions ingredient list. 

Once out of the shower he was greatly disappointed when his hair refused to return to its respectable black no matter what he tried. So it was with a slight scowl, re-transfigured and clean black teaching robes, and bright pink hair that he met Harry in the dinning room just as the younger wizard was setting the table. One look at the potions master was all it took to send the green-eyed imp into gales of laughter. This allowed the anxious house elves that were fluttering around him to take over setting the table as one of them gently pushed the laughing wizard into a chair for breakfast.

"He did it. He actually did it! I didn't think he'd do it," Harry said as he tried to catch his breath and completely ignoring the dark scowl on the other man's face as he wiped away tears of mirth.

Voldemort managed to poke his head into the dinning room at just the right moment to send Harry into another round of laughter, causing the Dark Lord to smirk at his counter part. Seeing the food he gestured at it and both of them joined the laughing imp at the table, serving themselves while they waited for Harry to calm down.

"As promised," Voldemort said with a smirk. Harry nodded his gleeful agreement as he served himself before they lapsed into a comfortable silence as they ate.

"Drop the glamours," Snape ordered offhandedly as Harry grumpily complied without looking up from his meal. He figured that his clothes covered most of the scars any way. He also wasn't exactly willing to take on some of the fiercest women he had ever known over the issue so soon after getting the memory upgrade.

"We're going to Gringotts, clothes shopping, and an interview with Rita Skeeter in that order," Snape informed Harry of the day's agenda after a good fifteen minutes of silent eating by the three men.

"Alright, I'll most likely be in the library when you get back. Might take a nap or bake a cake or something," Harry said musingly, toying with a bit of scrambled eggs before finally eating them.

"You're coming with us. Your wardrobe needs replacing since I doubt that we will manage to retrieve any of it from Hogwarts any time soon. If the goblins followed through and made you a complete set of clothes all well and good but you will still need some wizard made clothing," Voldemort pointed out.

"Not to mention the generally appalling nature of your clothes," Severus added snarkily.

"Tch, did Voldy at least call his minions last night? I don't feel like getting cursed because they think I've got him under a control spell or some sort of potion," Harry asked grumpily, honestly unable to counter their arguments about his clothes. It wasn't like he didn't know he needed a few new shirts but the fact that he wasn't asked _why_ he wore what he did and that they were _making_ him get new stuff was more than a bit galling.

"No, everyone will be informed at the same time via the Prophet," Voldemort responded before taking a bite of his scrambled eggs while glaring at Harry for the weird nickname.

"Why not just call everyone and have Rita either attend the meeting or do the interview at the beginning of the meeting so that everyone can hear the answers? It should cut down on how many idiots challenge you because they think you're an imposter," Harry asked. Both of the other men looked dumbfounded at the solution providing a perfect balance between proof for the Dark and a public interview for everyone else, also proving sincerity and authenticity at the same time.

"That's still not getting you out of clothes shopping, you have no excuse for looking like a rag-a-muffin street urchin," Snape pointed out earning a cute pout from the imp. "Besides we need to see if your adult status has cleared and dose you with an appropriate aging potion. You might enjoy making everyone underestimate you but this is one of the instances when its more trouble than its worth. I also need to purchase good quality ingredients to make a scar remover for you, while it wont affect the one the Dark Lord gave you it should help with your other scars."

"Alright," Harry caved with a gusty sigh before starting to reach for their empty plates only for them to disappear, collected by the house elves with their magic. This left the Gryffindor no excuse but to get ready to leave immediately with them for the Alley's. Neither of his housemates let him escape to hide in the library or somewhere else on the magically expanded, largely unknown property.

"Brat, if you do not cease and desist I will stun you and carry you like a sack of grain through Diagon Alley for all to see!" Severus growled after the fourth or fifth escape attempt. Harry immediately quit trying to escape and simply looked up at Snape with a mournful expression and the dreaded puppy dog eyes. Voldemort could see the potions master wavering under the assault before deciding to rescue them both.

"Potter, I can just as easily curse you to sing limericks as I spelled Severus' hair pink. Do you want to be stuck singing poetry for our entire supply run?" Voldemort asked in a deceptively idle tone as he spelled Snape's hair back to its original color, much to the man's relief and Harry's disappointment.

"I'll behave but we're all getting brooms while we're out," Harry said firmly, earning matching grimaces from both of his companions.

"Joy," Severus muttered but didn't say anything further against the ultimatum as they apparated away with Harry side-along apparating due to lack of license.

They landed just beyond the steps of Gringotts in the assigned apparation area landing right in front of Remus, Sirius in his dog form, and Arthur & Molly Weasley just as they prepared to enter the bank. There was a moment of shocked silence and only Severus' phenomenal dueling skills kept Molly from yelling at them as he quickly cast a silencing spell before quickly aiming his wand at Lupin. Voldemort had his wand drawn a moment after the potions master but only raised it when the dog growled at them and bared its teeth, ready to strike.

"I suggest we take this inside the bank and out of public eyes," Severus suggested smoothly, his onyx colored eyes hard as granite. Harry was lightly held back from running to Sirius' side by both of his companions.

"Who's your friend Severus?" Remus asked amicably, his own eyes cold as a bit of amber and the wolf leaked through.

"I believe you already know or at least suspect who I am," Voldemort said with a wry chuckle. "As you can see Potter is completely unharmed and in no danger from either of us. I highly recommend that you join us on at least our first errand. If nothing else the goblins will assure your safety while we all conduct our business."

"Harry, are you alright?" Arthur asked tightly, watching the group warily.

"I'm fine Mr. Weasley. Unless of course you want to rescue me from the clothes shopping? Then I'm perfectly willing to have you kidnap me until its time to go back to the house," Harry said brightly, earning confused looks from the order members and rolled eyes from his companions.

"Your clothes need replacing and the transfigured ones you're wearing wont last past the day. You're not getting out of this and if you continue to try I am perfectly willing to assign detention and have you improve your frog gutting skills," Snape growled out, noting that Harry hadn't taken a single step away from the two of them or towards the quartet in front of them. He completely ignored the cute pout sent his way by Harry along with Voldemort's dark chuckle of amusement. "I'll even let you spend some time with the wolf and the mutt if you behave."

"But will they want to spend time with me?" Harry asked, his bright smile dimming significantly at the thought of being rejected by two people who had literally died for him in the other timeline. Both of his companions noticed Harry's sudden sadness and wondered if they would need to kill the two later for hurting him. They were both brought out of their thoughtful, if slightly bloodthirsty stares by the smack Harry gave each of them as he scolded them. "Stop it. No plotting to kill them until they actually do something to deserve it. If you can prove to me that they deserve it then I wont interrupt your plots, until then _no plotting_."

"Very well," Snape grumbled before grudgingly putting his wand away as Voldemort followed suit, trusting the other man's knowledge of the people standing in front of them. Sirius immediately bounded forward and tried to pull Harry away from them only to receive a sharp tap to his sensitive snout as both of them bodily shielded his target from him. Harry decided that the situation was getting ridiculous and managed to casually walk away from both groups up the steps into the bank before turning and calling to them from the door way.

"You coming or not?" Harry called, startling all six out of the stand off as he darted into the lobby laughing with Voldemort and Severus hot on his heels only to be caught and dragged into a close hug. Severus trusted both Voldemort and now the goblins to ensure the order members didn't attack as he playfully tussled with Harry. He was suddenly very greatful that he had memories of the friendship they had developed after the final battle.

"Sev! Le' go!" Harry said laughingly as he tried to get away.

"And why should I do that? Are you willing to perhaps give me a forfeit?" Snape asked mischief dancing in his eyes.

"I'm in enough trouble as it is," Harry said suddenly stilling as his mood dropped once more. Severus' grip immediately turned from playful to comforting as with a heavy sigh he drew the smaller male into a hug, practically burying him in the dark robes the larger man wore.

"Mood swing?" Voldemort mouthed only to receive a slight tilt of the head in consideration from Snape.

"You will let my cub go!" Remus growled, smelling the faintest hint of tears from Harry as the four order members finally caught up.

"I'm not the one making him cry, _wolf_ ," Severus snarled back, turning as if to shield Harry from them.

"Considering how many people he had to watch die in the other timeline, and how many he's seen alive and whole since we got back, he's doing remarkably well," Voldemort said ruthlessly, causing the werewolf to pale and Snuffles to whine.

"He needs his family," Molly said stoutly as she tried to come over and take Harry into her arms, only to be blocked by a protective Snape.

"Yes, but first he needs to stay with people who experienced the same!" Snape hissed at her, wondering who broke the silencing spell he had tossed at her earlier. "If this is how you're going to act then I see no reason to allow you anywhere near him. Arthur, you and the twin menaces are welcome to owl us and arrange a visit. Wolf, mutt, we will see about arranging visits later. I should have realized that recovering for a week after reaching his inheritance early would have delayed the memory integration considering how immature and weakened his physical body is."

"What seems to be the trouble here?" Auror Dawlish asked pompously as he came over to the two groups, quickly followed by a few goblins wondering if they needed to intervene.

"They kidnapped Harry Potter and refuse return him to his family!" Molly said heatedly, pointing at the trio.

"I'm not kidnapped!" Harry said angrily, poking his head around the stubborn potions master he had been pushing against for the last few minutes as he mentally cursed his underdeveloped body.

"You accuse us of kidnapping yet you travel with Sirius Black in his animagus form. Tell me, how long have you been protecting a mass murderer?" Severus said evilly, earning a sharp smack from Harry for exposing Sirius as the smaller wizard thought quickly on how to salvage the situation.

"What?" Dawlish asked in shock before quickly casting the animagus reversion charm at the dog, for once acting intelligently. Sirius was forced back into human form only to lay there panting in pain at the forced transformation.

"You can't arrest him. We're in Gringotts and the ministry has no authority here only the goblins do," Harry pointed out quickly, stopping the Auror short as he went to do just that.

"That's right," Sirius said horsely. "Gringotts is sovereign territory, only the goblins can say who is allowed and who isn't."

"Why did you previously not inform the Ministry as to Black's illegal animagus status?" Dawlish asked angrily.

"I assumed you knew as Headmaster Dumbledore promised me you would be informed of the fact when I reported the discovery to him last year as well as the survival of Peter Pettigrew. I had him captured and believed he was receiving the Kiss for attempted murder at the end of last year, though Minister Fudge wasn't completely clear on the matter but something happened. I don't entirely recall the situation with the concussion I had received and was running around with after the werewolf," Severus nodded towards Remus as he spoke. "Knocked me out. I was rightfully concerned at the time as he put three students in danger, having forgotten to take his potion on the night of the full moon and thus was out of control on school grounds."

Hearing the mostly accurate rendition of the night Wormtail escaped both Harry and Remus winced as they both realized exactly how bad the situation could have turned out. Dawlish stood there as he processed the new information before nodding sharply in decision.

"I cannot remove Black from Gringotts," Dawlish ground out in obvious pain and frustration as to the situation. "But I can ensure that he does nothing to anyone else. If he accepts Auror escort initially in the form of myself I am willing to send for Madam Bones and request the use of Veritaserum as we take his testimony. This will allow Madam Bones to assess the situation properly and make a decision."

Sirius looked torn until he glanced towards Harry's pleading face and nodded slowly before carefully dragging himself back to his feet.

"I, Sirius Orion Black, do accept the terms offered by Auror Dawlish in an attempt to both prove my innocence and keep the peace," Sirius declared, drawing on his training as a former Auror and making the agreement legally and magically binding as a flash of light confirmed the deal. The goblins nodded in satisfaction as several of them and most of the patrons returned to their own business.

"You will return my future son-in-law to us or face my wand!" Molly threatened finally fed up with waiting to have the situation with Harry addressed. At her words Harry's eyes widened in shock before darkening in an absolute fury which was quickly matched by Snape and Voldemort.

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked with a puppy-like lost look. "I haven't signed any marriage contracts for him and I know that neither James nor Lily did. They thought he should choose his own wife or husband."

"You're not his guardian, Albus is and he signed the marriage contract on Harry's behalf as his magical guardian," Molly said shortly, wand drawn and aimed at the two dark wizards who were stealing away her daughter's husband.

"I, however, did not sign any marriage contract for Ginny," Arthur pointed out in a softly dangerous tone. 

"Of course you did, unfortunately Dumbledore said you got caught by one of the twins exploding pranks and that it wasn't safe to try and return your memory. Severus refused to look at the potion that exploded all over you. I was assured that both of them received a month's worth of detention on top of the Howler I sent them," Molly assured. "He even showed me the completed contract that he was filing when he went to the ministry later that day."

"What?!" Harry demanded, completely outraged and suddenly very glad that Ginny had disappeared within a year after the final battle and just before she turned 17 in the other timeline. The way she had obsessed over him was creepy, especially when she kept insisting he was her boyfriend but still dated other guys.

Snape stiffened and exchanged a look with Voldemort, who nodded his own understanding. Neither of them would allow her to have Harry even if she had to die to free him from her.

"And how exactly did you plan to make that work when Potter isn't exactly straight?" Severus drawled, remembering the few dates Harry _had_ actually gone on after the war in the other timeline.

"Don't be like that Severus. You know I swing both ways, I just prefer guys," Harry pointed out with a sigh, finally managing to get room to move, shoving both taller wizards to the side so that he could see the other group clearly. "Though I'll admit that I didn't know about the marriage contract but since the goblins didn't bring it up when we asked about binding contracts last time I don't think its legal."

"It could have been invalidated by our deal during the final battle. Especially since breaking such a contract would be seen as dishonorable and would hinder our task greatly," Voldemort pointed out thoughtfully.

"Come Harry you don't need to pretend to believe that lie they told everyone after the third task. Lets go home and I'll make you lunch while you play quidditch with the other children," Molly said firmly, hand outstretched towards the apparent teen.

"Except its not a lie, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said quietly with a dark intensity, his voice carrying through the entire lobby to every being present. "Even if I were still fighting Voldemort and his people I could never marry Ginny. My body may be fourteen but my mind is twenty-three. I have seen our world go from one internal war almost directly into a war with the muggle world. Our task is to first save magic and second delay or hopefully prevent those wars. I wont go home with you but you can tell Ron and the twins I'm safe. In fact if you could tell them that _I solemnly swear I am up to no good_ , I'd be greatful and think they'd get a laugh out of it."

"Harry James Potter! You will come over here now and we will go home this instant!" Molly practically screeched as she stamped her foot like an enraged toddler, only to drop to the floor a moment later with her husband's wand pointed at her back.

"I apologize for the appalling behavior of my wife. I honestly don't know what has gotten into her," Arthur said in dismay. "I think I'll take her to St. Mungoes and see if they can find anything though I don't know how we are going to afford the bills for it. As Head of House Weasley I, Arthur Septimus Weasley, do hereby cancel any outstanding marriage contracts between the Weasley and Potter families as invalid from this day forwards as a gift to one, Harry James Potter, and recompense for the insult my wife has paid to the house of Potter. That said I will be sure to give the boys your message."

"Thank you," Harry said, completely floored and fully aware of what Mr. Weasley had done. If there had been a marriage contract between any of the Weasley clan and Harry, inherited or otherwise, it was now null and void. Arthur nodded before levitating his wife and quickly taking her to St. Mungoes. Remus followed Sirius to one of the goblins to conduct their own business as Dawlish trailed them suspiciously but not without sending more than a few worried looks Harry's way.

"Harridan!" Severus spat, glaring after the loud redheaded woman.

"We've had this discussion before," Harry pointed out with a sigh as they headed towards where they could see Griphook while everyone returned to their own business.

"Which still doesn't change my opinion on the matter. Her attempts to keep you as a child and yet still marry you off to the Weasley chit nearly got you killed more than once," Severus shot back grumpily as they were led directly to a conference room. 

Snape suddenly wondered why Harry had been so willing to let them touch him when in the other timeline only Ron, Hermione, and the Weasley twins had any real freedom to randomly touch him. He could easily remember more than one incident when someone had come upon the young Lord unexpectedly or took liberties and wound up cursed. Not that he wasn't going to be a Slytherin and take advantage of the situation as much as possible. If he could prove that he was worthy of the trust that Harry was giving him by allowing him to be so physically close without flinching then he might have a better chance at winning him. True they had fought for years as the Gryffindor grew to adulthood but that also meant they were both perfectly aware of how bad it could get. There was no need to hide and that very fact reduced the pressure to make themselves seem overly appealing. Severus came out of his reverie just as Griphook started asking a few questions to complete the paperwork for Harry's adult classification.

"Now, there was some information which we were unable to fill in on the paperwork you requested be completed last week, Lord Potter. If you would just answer a few questions we can file it and have all of the documentation and licensing done before you leave today. This will in turn certify you as an adult, regardless of appearance, and re-certify you for your apparation license," Griphook explained and Harry nodded his understanding, waiting for the first question. "Your primary residence since the night of October 31, 1981?"

"Number 4 Private Drive, Surrey," Harry replied promptly, with more than a little disgust hiding in his tone.

"Address on first Hogwarts letter?" Griphook asked, as he wrote down the answer to the first question.

"Er, why?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"I do not determine the questions, Lord Potter. The re-certification process of a time traveler is governed by very special magics and is only very rarely employed. I do not know why the particular questions are asked only that many times there is always at least one which the time traveler must answer personally. Surprisingly your companions answered their own single questions during our last meeting. You, however, have a good deal more that need to be answered before the re-certification can be processed. Now, please answer the question." Griphook said severely yet somehow looking as if he hadn't a care in the world.

"The Cupboard Under the Stairs, Number 4 Private Drive, Surrey," Harry answered quietly, refusing to meet anyone's gaze.

"Good. Name of pet spider at age 5?" Griphook asked to the scratching sound of the quill on parchment.

"Sliver," Harry admitted, a little more comfortable with this question.

"Reason for destruction of the Philosopher's Stone?" Came the next question, earning wide-eyed looks from all three wizards.

"As far as I know Dumbledore destroyed it not me," Harry told them, earning a pause in the scratching of the quill and a considering look from Griphook. A moment later the goblin nodded sharply and moved on.

"Reason for insisting on a treaty between muggle and magical worlds during your time as King?" Griphook asked.

"Simply put? Numbers. They greatly outnumber us and their tools of warfare easily outstrip what I know of magical equivalents, with or without including all magical races," Harry told them frankly. "Near complete separation was insisted upon by both sides once the disparity became more widely acknowledged. We also discovered that a number of the laws about magical beings are still technically active. This caused friction and outrage but did gain the general agreement of the muggleborns to support the separation and assisted in the re-integration of all magical people, including squibs, into our society."

"Position of magical education under your rule?" Griphook asked dispassionately, successfully hiding his interest from Harry but not Snape or Voldemort who looked at him sharply.

"Er, once I realized that reintegration was immediately necessary I struck down nearly all of the creature laws and expanded the magical education decree to include all sentient species. I was going to do something like that any way after things settled down a bit but I had to speed up the process to avoid idiots getting themselves killed because they refused to work with or listen to non and part-humans," Harry explained, thinking back on his choices in the other timeline. "Certain species were granted the right to issue their own diploma after completing formal education or apprenticeships but they had to be certified by Gringotts using truth serum soaked parchment. All testing and certifications had to be confirmed by Gringotts for certain jobs and fields and any goblin made artifacts held by the ministry were returned to Gringotts as an act of good faith. I had to tell Gringotts that anyone who tried to retrieve them fell under goblin law, which in turn got most of the Unspeakables killed, so we might want to do something about that."

"We can always request that all knowledge be stripped and recorded before their executions and pay for a goblin expert to go over the material, destroying the pieces that are too dangerous for use," Voldemort pointed out. "Unless a goblin artifact is specifically made or declared to be exempt from their return policy we can request the study of it for say 5 years? before formally returning it. Not to mention if we ever have to actually use one for a specific purpose we can pay for them to loan it to us with a goblin overseer. This will allow us the use of them in an emergency and allow the goblins to retain true ownership and can be written into the formal treaty later."

"Huh, didn't think of that," Harry admitted. None of them were worried about Griphook reporting the conversation since they didn't actually want to try and trick the goblins and risk another goblin war.

"We can thrash out the wording of a new, more appropriate treaty later," Severus said sarcastically. Harry grinned sheepishly before nodding at Griphook to continue.

"Status of Goblin-Wizard Treaty upon your return to this time?" Griphook asked levelly.

"Um, I think we were ignoring the one that was officially on paper and working as two individual nations working together to defend against the muggles. Lucius worked with your people the most so I'm not as up to date on that as I should be," Harry told them.

"Thank you for your assistance Lord Potter. We will have this processed immediately," Griphook said before placing the completed paperwork in a box that magically sent it to the correct department. "As to the promised wardrobes, they are nearly complete and will be delivered to your current residence within the hour. Here are the minor residency details that should have been laid out for you upon your arrival had the one tasked with such not accidentally been eaten by one of our security dragons just before feeding time."

They each accepted several pieces of parchment listing the wards on the house, the floo address, a small map of both house and grounds, and a list of the books contained in the included library. They said nothing about the fate of the dead goblin, all three of them perfectly aware of how dangerous dragons could be.

"Here are your keys to the joint vault we are providing during the audit. I am also to inform you as a courtesy due to your goblin favored status that the muggle Queen has requested copies of our information files on the three of you. We were told that it was in pursuit of providing some award for services rendered but that the situation was complicated by the ongoing changes," Griphook told them formally as he handed over an identical key to each of them. "As promised the vault holds 15 million galleons. 5 million of which is yours to keep for bringing the situations to our attention, 10 million is under the normal loan procedures should it be used. Should you manage to return a goblin artifact another 10 million will be added and the entire vault will revert to your joint ownership without penalty."

"Is Ravenclaws Diadem goblin made?" Harry asked thoughtfully. "I know Gryffindor's Sword is but it seems to be somehow linked to either my bloodline, the school, or the sorting hat since I pulled it out of the silly thing and used it against the Basilisk."

"Ah, someone must have cast a version of the curse of recall on it. The sword must have recognized and accepted the implied claim or it would have refused the spell's inclusion. I will have our records updated. Please encourage the current holder to bring it in for a complete re-registration and confirmation of claimed status for our records," Griphook instructed, making a few notes on a piece of parchment that immediately went into his out box for delivery.

"Can we transfer 2-3 thousand Galleons into the Weasley account anonymously? If something really is wrong with Mrs. Weasley I want to help," Harry asked cautiously, not sure how his housemates would react to the suggestion.

"On the condition that the only Weasleys you will associate with are the males of the family and you allow us to forbid contact with any of them should they prove equally problematic as the women," Snape growled out. "You will also not eat anything provided by them. I have no wish to spend my time disenchanting you from pranks and love spells."

"Fair enough," Harry said reluctantly, thinking that it was more the twins' pranks and that no Weasley would willingly dose him with a love potion.

"If you can convince the twins to help with our task I see no reason not to fund their joke shop rather than force them to find funding like the last time," Voldemort said thoughtfully.

"Ah, but did you ever figure out who their silent partner was?" Harry asked with a smirk, setting both of the dark haired wizards intantly on alert.

"No," Severus said in a horrified tone of dread as he stared at the smirking imp seated next to him, having easily put the pieces together.

"Yes," Harry said still smirking.

"I presume that you're agreeing so easily to ensure you can fund that ridiculous business again?" Voldemort drawled. Harry just looked pleased with himself.

"They come anywhere near me with one of their pranks and I will find some way to gut them or make them wish they were never born," Severus threatened only receiving an angelic smile from the smaller wizard in response. "Yes, fine. Give the menaces their start up money. How much did you give them last time?"

"A thousand galleons, the Tri-wizard winnings. I hope they gave it to Cedric's family this time," Harry said with a frown.

"They will receive 500 from each of us into an account assigned only to Harry's Weasley twins," Voldemort decided firmly. "With the provision that they move into their own place and have it warded heavily so that if you feel the need to get away for some reason you have somewhere to go that we know is safe. They are to have you keyed into the wards and Dumbledore is never to be keyed into those wards. If they cannot comprehend that they are to be a safe place for you I will not be pleased."

"Who are you and what have you done with Voldemort, possessive bastard extraordinaire?" Harry demanded, staring at his former enemy. Voldemort just smirked back at him while Severus grumbled about childish antics.

"Tsk, tsk, behave imp," Voldemort teased before turning back to Griphook. "As for the imp's original request two thousand for the family as a whole anonymously for helping to keep my imp safe. Another thousand if they have the girl see a mind healer about her obsession with Harry Potter."

"Uh, why?" Harry asked quizzically. "I mean, yeah she needs to see one since your diary did a number on her but, why?"

"Either the brat sees a mind healer or I kill her the next time she comes near you," Voldemort said evenly, earning a blink of shock from Harry before he reluctantly nodded, knowing that he wouldn't be able to stop his counter part when he followed through on the threat.

"Do we have anything else to discuss or can we withdraw our money and go shopping?" Severus groused.

"You just want to get to the apothecary faster," Harry accused with a snort. They finished their business quickly and headed out into Diagon Alley.


	10. Potions, Clothes, and Spying Beetles

"Alright, what was the _real_ reason you let us tell you not to see the Weasley females?" Severus demanded almost the moment they left Gringotts.

"No reason," Harry lied in his most innocent and unconcerned tone, neither of his companions bought it.

"Harry," Voldemort started in a warning tone only for Harry to take off like a shot through the crowds forcing the other two to quickly follow, cursing all the way. They found him just outside of Slug & Jiggers Apothecary smirking at them.

"Wrong shop for actual potions," Severus pointed out softly, causing Harry's face to fall in disappointment at being found out. "Brat, we get your aging potion first _then_ the ingredients for everything else. If we can not find your potion in the appropriate quality I will brew it myself."

"Always the bodyguard, eh Snape?" Harry said wanly.

"I've been guarding your miserable hide since you first came to Hogwarts," Snape scoffed before turning soft. "It is to my shame that I didn't start sooner."

Harry waved away the apology and looked around, trying to figure out which shop actually sold potions and not just ingredients. He finally caught sight of a shop name that, given the Wizarding World's habit of naming things, seemed right and headed for it, this time without trying to loose the other two in the crowd.

"At least he picked the right shop this time," Voldemort said philosophically as they entered J. Pippin's Potions.

"Since we will be returning him to his proper age and the situation is more than a bit unusual I want him to take a Girding potion and several Nutrition potions before he takes the Ageing potion. It will increase his chances of fixing some of the damage done by those damned muggles when he ages," Severus said thoughtfully as they looked around at the inside of the dusty and slightly dark shop. "He should probably take a Replenishing potion directly afterwards as well."

"What about an Oculus potion? His eyes need to be fixed," Voldemort pointed out as he cast a considering eye over the smaller wizard. Harry looked around in interest ignoring the potion based byplay. He kept near them so that he didn't accidentally knock something over or something else that would get him a scolding for being a dunderhead.

"The goblin healer pointed out that some of the damage was partly caused by the lack of nutrition when he was younger. The fact that he doesn't have the correct prescription doesn't help. I suspect that if we fixed his eyes he might be able to brew more than disaster in a potions lab," Severus admitted as they moved through the store, occasionally stopping so that the potions master could examine the quality of this potion or that ingredient.

"Ah, so my secret is out," Harry said lightly, proving that he was listening even if he wasn't particularly interested in the subject of potions.

"The fact that you can't see? Yes, yes, I believe that it is," Severus smirked at him before he grew serious. "Harry, the very fact that the _house elves_ approached me this morning about getting recipes from you is enough to prove you can probably brew most potions successfully. After your little cooking display, yes the elves admitted that you were this morning's primary cook, I wouldn't doubt that very few potions would actually give you trouble. Provided you were able to read the instructions and understood the different preparation methods better. Unless I am mistaken you have either been purposefully making mistakes in my class or someone has been sabotaging you since you started learning potions."

"Why do you say that?" Harry asked in sudden interest.

"Because nearly every time I've had you brew a potion for detention or one of the house elves reported that you were brewing without supervision they turned out, if not perfect than very nearly perfect and were useable," Severus said with complete seriousness. Harry grimaced but held his tongue, knowing that a great deal of the time it was probably one of the Slytherins who had sabotaged his work since he'd caught them at it more than once. 

That's when they all heard a shout of surprise and a crash. Turning to see what the commotion was about Voldemort wasn't surprised to find Nagini quickly making her way through the shop towards them, a small box carefully held in her mouth. With a mental sigh he bent and carefully retrieved the box from his familiar's jaws.

"What's that and why is Nagini bringing it to you?" Harry asked with interest.

"The ring," Voldemort admitted before moving quickly to keep it out of Harry's reach as he tried to grab it. "Tsk, tsk, I will give it to you _after_ I've disenchanted it. I've no desire to see you die via a curse I created."

Harry pouted a bit but nodded his understanding before bending over and petting a snickering Nagini as a fuming shop keeper stormed up to them.

"Which one of you does the snake belong to?" The man demanded belligerently, earning an arched eyebrow from Voldemort and a snort of amusement from Snape.

"~Nagini did you actually knock over or break something?~" Voldemort hissed at his beloved familar causing the man to immediately go pale.

"~No Tom, the silly human saw me and thought it was prey,~" Nagini said still laughing at the reaction of the wayward shopper.

"Nagini says she didn't actually disturb your stock but I apologize for causing a disturbance on her behalf. She was simply delivering something to me that I had asked her to retrieve," Voldemort said, casually showcasing the small box before tucking it away in his robes. He wasn't willing to risk someone accidentally triggering the spells on the outside of the box since only he or a serpent would be able to touch it without harm.

"Ah, no trouble, no trouble at all... please tell me if I can be of any help, any help at all," The man practically stuttered before quickly moving back behind the counter.

"You scared him," Harry snickered as he stopped petting the serpent, returning to his feet.

"Why do you find it so amusing?" Snape asked with a quirk of his eyebrow.

"Because the fawning is worse?" Harry suggested with a casual shrug of feigned unconcern.

"You still haven't told us why you were so accommodating about the Weasleys," Severus pointed out suspiciously. Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair tousling it more than it already was.

"Something was obviously wrong with Mrs. Weasley and I seemed to be part of the trigger. I'll probably insist on seeing her after she's been checked over and is out of St. Mungoes. As for Ginny... she's been stalking me and honestly? Its really creepy. I put up with her the last time since she's the sister of my best mate. We've already done things that probably have Ron calling me a traitor, again. The friends I have the best chance of keeping are the Weasley twins, Neville, Hermione, and Luna if she can remember some of what happened the last time. Knowing Luna I wouldn't be surprised, especially after she declared herself our official seer... Damn, I completely forgot about that. We need to talk to her." Harry told them with a grimace at the memory of how they left Luna at the school.

"First lets try to fix the age issue and some of the damage those muggles did to you," Severus said firmly before going back to looking through the pre-brewed potions and assessing them for quality. "Your eyes need to be checked by a healer who specializes with them. I can do something about the scars the muggles gave you with the right ingredients. If we dose you with a large number of Nutrient potions before you take the Ageing potion some of the damage should fix its self. My lord, is the bond you have going to interfere? And do you know how it will manifest yet?"

"Its leaning towards the lover/mate bond but that is not entirely unexpected with how it manifested last time despite the complication of my previous insanity. Or did the two of you think that my obsession with Harry was somehow completely normal?" Voldemort said with more than a little amusement. "I admit that I was rather glad that we could generally stop trying to kill each other once I figured out what was going on."

"Of course its the Lover/Mate bond!" Harry ranted, throwing his hands up in the air dramatically. "With my luck why wouldn't it be?!"

"The Lover/Mate bond does not preclude us from having another lover or spouse. It simply means we need to share," Voldemort said with obvious amusement, noting the sudden comprehension that flashed over Severus' features before the man quickly blanked his face.

"Not helping!" Harry growled at Voldemort who simply stood their smirking, enjoying Harry's reaction and the fact that the younger male couldn't draw his wand without endangering the other shoppers.

"Do I need to protect you from the advances of the big old mean Dark Lord?" Severus couldn't resist teasing as he picked up the final potion they would need that was of acceptable quality before leading the small group to the check out counter. He ignored the vicious glare that the smaller wizard aimed at him.

"Can we drop a note off at the Prophet instead of simply kidnapping Rita for the interview? I want to be my proper age before I face that piranha again," Harry pleaded as they left the building and headed for Slug & Jiggers for the ingredients Severus needed for one project or another.

"Certainly," Severus said magnanimously, waiting for Harry to relax before pouncing with his own agenda. "In exchange you will dress in the robes _we_ pick out for the interview and you will stand with us in front of the Death Eaters. You will also not complain about the potions you will be drinking before hand."

"Fine," Harry said in a long suffering tone, inwardly relieved that he wouldn't have to try and figure out what was appropriate for a combined news interview/Death Eater meeting. He'd already known that complaining about the potions might get him stuck in his current 14 year old body for longer than he could stand and had no plans to risk losing the use of the Ageing potion.

Mutually satisfied for the moment the quartet of wizards and serpent headed for their next stop. Harry muttered darkly about having to stay near the other two just because they had spotted a couple of order members until Voldemort got fed up and asked Nagini to keep him company. The doting familiar gave her human an amused chuckle before engaging Harry in a quiet parseltongue discussion while the other two shopped. This distracted Harry from his attempts to escape to either Flourish & Blotts or the Quidditch shop while unnerving the few patrons who got close enough to realize what was happening and amusing Nagini to no end.

Harry was subjected to the torment... er, wonderful service of Madam Malkins for a second full, if basic, wardrobe along with ones for both Voldemort and Severus. Much to his disgust, frustration, and his companion's unending amusement he was set upon by a number of fans who happened to be present and tried to "rescue" him, forcing the small group to make a quick exit. Harry dragged both of them into a number of broom shops as well as Gambol & Japes in retaliation smugly leaving with a new assortment of prank material and a new broom. 

Since none of them knew when they would be able to safely re-enter Hogwarts and possibly allow Severus and Harry to retrieve their things the other two wizards didn't begrudge him the broom. They did, however insist he get one of the Nimbus series rather than a second hideously expensive Firebolt. Harry didn't care and was just happy they let him get a broom so that he could fly again. Right about that time Harry noticed that Severus had picked up a hitch hiker in the form of a beetle.

"Oh, no you don't," Harry said softly before quickly capturing the beetle off of the dour man's robes and wandlessly stunning it.

"What was that?" Severus asked archly, earning a sheepish look from Harry.

"Er, kidnapping Rita?" Harry offered weekly, showing them both the unconscious brilliantly colored beetle. It only took them a moment to realize that the woman was an animagus and for Severus to conjure up a jar that he spelled unbreakable with a smirk for them to put her in. They finally took a break for food after a quick stop to pick up a new wand holster for Harry from a frowning Ollivander, choosing the Leaky Cauldron for lunch.


	11. The Price of Death

Just as they were entering the old pub a screeching white and grey blur came out of the sky, scaring a good number of people, only to land on Harry's shoulder. Hedwig scolded furiously and whacked the sheepish green-eyed wizard about the head with her wings. Harry fumbled, not wanting to hurt his irate familiar but still not enjoying the owl's reaction after finally finding her human.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! We had to leave. I didn't even have a chance to get my treasures from my trunk," Harry said apologetically, his genuinely sad tone immediately stopping the scolding assault only for the owl to immediately start cooing comfortingly as she groomed his hair.

"~Stupid feather duster! I should eat you for hurting the hatchling!~" Nagini hissed indignantly, only to receive a furious screech and a vicious glare in return.

"~You know I'm not a hatchling,~" Harry pointed out idly as he petted Hedwig, doing his best to sooth his very first friend.

"~You are small, not yet full grown. You are a hatchling,~" Nagini told him stubbornly. Harry simply sighed, recognizing the stubbornness for what it was and dropping the matter.

"Behave, both of you," Harry told both familiars firmly. "You don't have to like each other but you do have to be civil to one another since I'm staying with red-eyes from now on and leaving isn't an option if we want to fulfill our end of the deal."

"Leaving wasn't an option the moment I realized we had a forming soul bond," Voldemort retorted with a snort of amusement as they finally entered the old pub.

Picking an out of the way table the three sat down, unconsciously arranging themselves so that they could watch each other's backs, the two doors, hallway, and fireplace before quietly ordering their food. Snake and bird settled into a staring contest that could have easily been mistaken for them trying to kill each other with their eyes before they finally nodded firmly in silent agreement. They returned to their preferred resting locations on their respective wizards. 

Snape noticed, with more than a little amusement, that the two animals discretely or not so discretely mothered both Parseltongue speakers, making sure that they ate enough and remained unbothered by other patrons. Noticing Mad Eye Moody lingering in one dark corner and the slow infiltration of more than one order member into the dinning area he decided to let them figure out the peaceful intentions on their own. Harry placed the jar encased beetle onto the center of the table, pondering whether to try and give her food and water or wait until they got back and she could shift to human form.

"How long do you think it will take for them to realize that we are simply enjoying a late lunch? Nothing more?" Voldemort asked idly, taking another bite of his potatoes and mostly ignoring the order members themselves.

"Considering they still believe that Potter was kidnapped, they probably think he's under the imperious or some other such nonsense. The brat can break the imperious and anything with less power would have to find a way around his stubbornness. Its also probably why Dumbledore had so much trouble controlling him the last time around. Like his father and the blasted mutt his stubbornness could see him bowling through an entire army," Severus said, with more than a little amusement as they watched Harry banish a small piece of bread crust into the jar for Rita to eat. 

Snape's attention was diverted by a deep growl as a large black dog knocked Harry out of his chair before standing over him in a guard position. Dragging a startled yelp out of Harry and sending Hedwig screeching towards the rafters for refuge.

"Lord Black," Voldemort greeted politely, with Snape muttering a wary "Mutt" in similar greeting, earning a confused whine from the animagus.

"Sirius! Get off!" Harry complained, pushing ineffectually at his godfather and ignoring the many wands now pointed at the small table and its occupants.

"The muggles starved him and now you're depriving him of a good meal right before he has to take an aging potion to return to his correct age. How foolish can you get? Do you want him to have complications? Or rather _more_ complications? I already have to feed him half a dozen other potions to try and fix some of the damage. Though Merlin knows at least the time spent in the healers tent for the past week has gotten him closer to a safe weight," Snape snarked at the suddenly chagrined canine as he slunk off the downed form of his godson. 

The fearful whispering from the pub patrons eased a bit as Harry sat up with an indignant huff only to smack Sirius on his black furred shoulder, earning a pitiful whine of complaint. Harry ignored the man in favor of righting his chair and grumpily going back to his meal as a confused Padfoot sat next to him on the floor.

"I'm not confounded, I'm not possessed, I'm not imperioed, I'm not compelled, and I'm not being bloody well forced! I'm also not 14 any more and can make my own decisions. Go find someone else to play puppet for the damn order!" Harry called out to the order members in the room only for Mad Eye to force himself to his feet and stump over, pulling up a chair of his own to join them at the table.

"That's real good to hear laddie but we need a bit more proof than just your word," Moody said gruffly, eying Snape and Voldemort warily. 

Voldemort hummed thoughtfully before nodding and pulling out the small box that Nagini had retrieved for him. He quickly started stripping away the protections, curses, and spells on the box until it sprang open with a click. Rapping his wand hard on Harry's darting hand to keep it from touching the ring he repeated the process before finally giving Harry a nod. With a crow of delighted glee the Gryffindor snatched it up before anyone else could intervene and the room suddenly got much much colder as a cloaked form stepped out of the shadows, freezing everyone in shock to their seats.

"So you two were listening," Death said with a smirk as he joined them at the table, conjuring his own skeleton themed chair before sitting.

"Death," Voldemort greeted softly, taking another bite of food, no longer afraid of dying.

"Having my master as one of your remaining Horcruxes is not insurance against my coming to collect you," Death warned. Voldemort nodded his understanding and took another sip of his tea. "Still, I will grant that your familiar will live as long as either of you survive unless she chooses otherwise. I will not, however, make her immune to anything else. Now, I know you have questions about our arrangement, ask."

"Why was I sent to join them?" Severus asked, oddly unafraid.

"You will keep them on task and balanced, to that end you will not die until they do. There is a limited amount of time until your Wizarding World is discovered and the muggles attempt to decimate you. There is also a limited amount of patience that the three of us have with your people. The gift of magic, yes, even the blackest of arts, were given to be used. If we find someone misusing our gifts we tend to get cranky about it, though admittedly we also expect you people to clean up your own mess when it does happen," Death said pointedly. "That said our deal was to give you a chance to save them despite how much they have tested our patience. Depending on a number of things your time limit to work with is approximately 5 years until discovery, unless someone is an idiot, and 30 years until every last being and creature with magic is dead. If you can not make a certain amount of progress, which varies depending upon general idiocy, we will be forced to strip all magic from this world regardless of the consequences. Only the three of you will retain your magic and everything outside of a certain radius around you will die."

"We're only three people, there's only so much we can do," Harry pointed out, absently petting a softly whining Padfoot.

"Which is why the deadline is on a sliding scale and wont directly affect the three of you," Death patiently explained. "One of the reasons we are able to give this chance, to even attempt to consider the deal originally struck, is the fact that the muggles are the ones who attempted to commit genocide against your people. Now that Lord Potter has the last of my Hallows I can help more. By the way I made it impossible for them to be taken from him and I will gladly collect anyone who is enough of an idiot to think they can mistreat him."

"Oi! Not a child!" Harry protested, earning snorts of amusement from both dark wizards, successfully diffusing the tension in the room with a childish pout.

"How does our current progress rate?" Voldemort asked carefully.

"Oh, you have no need to worry about that. You're two meetings have already bought you 30 years before we will be forced to strip away the magic, unless someone does something unendingly stupid," Death told them with a death's head grin. "Technically you're all still teetering on a knife's edge but you've bought them a little leeway."

"Are we going to have to set up a magical monarchy as the muggle Queen fears?" Snape quietly asked.

"Now that would be telling. Seriously though, your task is to get these idiots out of the dark ages and once more balance the use of magic with protecting yourselves as a people being a secondary objective. All of them could die and the three of you would constitute a near perfect balance to start anew with," Death told them. "I would also advise taking my young master home and putting him to bed, he's still recovering from that mess with the cursed vase and is burning through his magic to keep up with the two of you. When you finally decide to kill his muggle relatives for the abuse they've heaped upon him, remind them that they knew what they were doing to a human child?"

"Certainly," Voldemort agreed darkly as Harry groaned and hit his head on the table in frustration. He had hoped they'd forgotten about the Dursleys and Death had gone and not only reminded his two housemates but effectively told the entire wizarding world. They all ignored the soft cursing in Parseltongue coming from the teen as Sirius whined again, laying his head down on Harry's lap.

"Now for the unpleasant bit of business. I have to collect someone here as the first time I have ever physically manifested has certain... requirements, and frankly Lord Black fits the bill perfectly," Death said grimly.

"What?! No!" Harry yelped, sitting up quickly in his chair and placing his hands protectively over the dog's head laying in his lap.

"Master, had Dumbledore not interfered he would already be in my care," Death said gently. "I _must_ claim someone and it cannot be you."

"No, no, no, no, no!" Harry chanted, hugging Sirius tightly to him, as he begged with his eyes for Death not to do this.

"He'll break down and be useless for months, just like last time," Severus warned snarkily, taking pity on the smaller wizard.

"And taking nearly anyone else drops the leeway we can give you from 30 years down to 5," Death answered, his glowing eyes never leaving Harry. Sirius took that moment to pull away and shift back to human form, immediately being slammed into by Harry in a death grip that only remotely resembled a hug. Grey eyes met glowing red as he gently pushed a now crying Harry back into his seat.

"This will help him? This will protect him?" Sirius asked. Death nodded, knowing that Sirius understood his protections weren't in place yet but would settle into Harry's very bones the moment the due was paid for his unintentional summoning.

"The closer you are to him, the stronger the protections I can lay. Lily Potter laid down strong ones but they are battered into near nonexistence. I will weave the ones produced by your own collection into something even stronger and far more permanent. With the stone, which I will dissolve into his very blood, he can call you so that you may speak and spend time together whenever it may please you. Any other options will be explained back in my domain as mortals are not allowed to know them," Death explained softly. "This time he has a chance to say goodbye, last time... he watched you die in the middle of a duel as you protected him."

"Please Sirius," Harry begged, already reliving the grief of the last time he watched Sirius die, knowing his godfather's answer. "Don't go."

"Sorry, Prongslet," Sirius said with a sad smile. "Snivellous has done a decent job protecting you, let him keep helping. I'll see you when you're done with what needs to be done or whenever you call me, but don't you dare follow me until you've lived a full life, filled with happiness."

Death nodded and Sirius faded away, not even leaving a body behind. The moment the animagus faded both Voldemort and Snape were in motion grabbing Harry and pulling him into a joint hug, lightly restraining him as he sobbed. They rocked back and forth in a soothing motion while Harry finally properly grieved for the only father he'd ever known. Nagini kept everyone away from the three of them and Moody had the presence of mind not to try and interfere, simply observing how they treated Harry. More than an hour later Harry's sobs finally petered out with a quiet hiccup. A cup of hot chocolate appeared in front of them and Severus picked it up, checking it before giving it to Harry, neither wizard willing to let go of him. By the time he was done the sweet treat Harry was half asleep in their arms and they had to carry him home using the floo network, Rita absently getting pocketed. No one tried to stop them when they left the Leaky Cauldron.


	12. Dress Up, Aging, and Death

"Stupid mutt, making him relive his death," Severus muttered angrily as they gently laid Harry down to sleep off the exhaustion.

"And we still have to call everyone for the meeting and interview," Voldemort agreed with a grimace.

"At least he managed to say goodbye this time. If Death was truthful about the stone then Harry should be fine in a couple of hours. He grieved over the mutt last time and it hurt him for nearly three months. At least with something to do this time and that blasted stone it will simply be like the mutt is actually able to be there for him," Snape pointed out sourly.

"The only reason I can think of that it had to be Lord Black that was collected was either he was a threat to Harry or as part of the original price of the deal. They warned us that the two of us would be paying the highest personal price but we agreed before knowing what the full price and conditions actually were," Voldemort admitted, frustration clear in his voice.

"Potter I can believe that of but you?" Snape asked incredulously.

"I know, I know, but the interpretation of the wording being used wasn't as clear cut as it could have been. You might have managed to avoid our mistake with all your practice as a spy... maybe," Voldemort informed him, still irritated over the obvious trick. "We would have likely agreed any way but they clearly did not want us to know the exact terms of the deal. Which is why we've had so much trouble since the third task trying to figure out what we need to focus on, aside from eliminating the obvious stupidity."

"Well if you help me wake him we can feed him the potions before sending him back to sleep, that way he will be the correct physical age by the time everyone gets here," Snape offered, changing the subject.

Voldemort grudgingly nodded his agreement, they carefully woke Harry just enough to feed the emotionally exhausted younger wizard most of his potions before allowing him to return to blissful slumber as his body healed, preparing to be aged. However when Harry's body didn't seem to be responding to the early sip of Ageing potion that would help integrate the Nutrition and Oculus potions Snape frowned in concern before starting to cast diagnostic spells, the results were confusing to say the least.

"Having a bit of trouble?" Death drawled with a snicker from a nearby shadowy corner, causing them both to start.

"I take it this... unusual effect has something to do with you?" Voldemort shot back.

"Certainly, his soul remembers dying and taking up the mantle as my master at age 17, earning a few perks from the position. He doesn't actually need glasses anymore but his incorrect prescription changes his vision to almost the same as it did when his eyes were still damaged so he hasn't noticed. Just take away his glasses and make him use his eyes for small things or distance and he'll have 20/10 vision by the time his eyes finish correcting and healing themselves, again. I was going to work on his physical body next but he never took off the glasses long enough to notice the change. While amusing I didn't feel like dealing with him panicking over it while in the middle of a war zone. As for the choice of wording when gaining your agreement, well it gives us a bit more room to work with," Death admitted, more than a bit amused.

"And claiming the mutt?" Severus asked stubbornly, mentally filing away the need to take Harry's glasses away and check him at 6 month intervals for any other "changes" Death might decide to make.

"Black's mind was mostly broken. It would only have taken the smallest push to send him over the edge and put my master in danger. It wouldn't have necessarily killed him but it could have broken my Master's spirit. A little relived grief now is better than having to practically paste his mind and soul back together later. Even with your help he might not have ever healed enough to be functional again should Sirius Orion Black have broken in a certain way. I removed the threat," Death said simply. "Call it complications from being stuck in Azkaban for so long. Though some of it actually came from the inbreeding of the Black family, it just wasn't as obvious as Bellatrix's insanity which Tom here exasperated with his _training_ in his own previously compromised state."

"Not my best idea," Voldemort agreed with a grimace, opting not to quibble over the use of his birth name. He wondered how the Black family madness would have expressed its self in Harry's godfather had Death not claimed him. It obviously would have been something personally painful to Harry or Death would not have acted.

"I've sped up the grieving process. He'll be fully function if a bit sad when he wakes. I doubt he'll think to call the man for at least a couple of months, which will give me more time to piece his mind back together. No need to traumatize my master more than necessary," Death told them before once more fading away just as Harry began to moan and groggily sat up in bed.

"Wha? What happened?" Harry asked groggily, then he remembered and tears started leaking out of his eyes. He wrapped his arms around himself in a self hug before his housemates gave resigned sighs and joined him on the bed. The three spent the next two hours cuddling before Harry was, with the help of Death's gift, back to his normal self.

"So did he say why Sirius?" Harry asked into the comforting silence of the room. He refused to look at the two men who would undoubtedly deny ever cuddling with him as he fought with a deep blush having just realized they were all in the same bed.

"Something about Azkaban doing more damage than originally thought and that it would take very little for him to become a danger to you," Severus grunted, completely unwilling to get up out of the warm bed for all that they had to get ready for the meeting and deal with Skeeter.

"Come, we need to get ready and oblivate the beetle. I don't feel like answering inane questions on whether you've gone dark or if I've forced the two of you to my side or some other nonsense," Voldemort grumbled before sliding out of the bed, forcefully taking the covers with him to get the other two up.

"So we make her take an unbreakable vow," Harry said with a shrug as he dragged himself out of the quickly cooling nice warm bed. "Its not like we aren't going to make her swear to tell the truth anyway, we just add a secrecy clause about everything that happened before the meeting and official interview. If that doesn't work we can always report her as an illegal animagus."

"Whatever we do someone is going to be calling him a new Dark Lord. The best we can hope for is that they wont be baying for our blood and will actually consider what we have to say," Severus pointed out softly as he slipped into the opulent bathroom before quickly returning after finishing his business only to find Harry glaring at Voldemort. "What happened?"

" _He_ wants me to wear a corset, _A CORSET!!_ " Harry said, gesticulating wildly in obvious agitation and completely oblivious to Voldemort's smirking visage.

"Its not a corset, its a vest and dinner jacket that will go under your over robes," Voldemort informed the agitated Gryffindor, laughter dancing in his eyes.

"It doesn't matter, he still has to take the rest of his potions and if he doesn't do it soon then he wont finish aging sufficiently before the meeting. Unless of course you _want_ to address them still looking fourteen?" Severus asked with his own smirk.

"I wonder if the two of you wouldn't look better in something from the wardrobe the goblins sent over," Voldemort suggested casually as he put aside the black dinner jacket with matching vest embroidered forest green.

"No! Have you even looked at what they sent over? It either shows far too much skin or is practically a set of light armor, not to mention how gaudy it all is," Snape protested vehemently, causing Harry to suddenly burst out laughing at the other man's reaction. Laughter which trailed off into a look of mild shock as he looked at the obviously goblin made get up Voldemort, with a wicked smile, pulled from the wardrobe.

"How would we even be able to move? With all the embroidery and the way its put together.... How many pieces are there, maybe we can mix it with normal wizard stuff," Harry muttered with a frown before shocking both of his housemates and snatching the mess of leather, silk, and embroidery. He dove into the wardrobe searching for something to mix the outfit with, reappearing several minutes later with a mixed goblin/wizard pile of clothes. Quickly laying out the various outfits and pieces he glanced at the other two for a color reference. 

Turning back to the various items of clothing Harry kept muttering under his breath as he sorted through the pile. Eventually nodding to himself Harry pulled this or that from the bundle of cloth, silk, and leather, to set it in one of three piles. The final result for Severus was black leather pants with embroidered dark green vines and leaves, a black leather vest with forest green embroidery and silver accents, a dark blue acromantula silk shirt for underneath. Then there was his over robe, a sleeveless black on black embroidered silk creation following the plant theme Harry had established that would both flow around and cling to the potions master. 

Voldemort's pile had a similar if slightly different theme using a mix of black and reds for the coloring with a wave/water-like patterning. The leather pants, unlike Severus' had the embroidered dark red pattern at the waist, mimicking a belt, and in a single thin line down the outside of each leg. His acromantula silk shirt was pure white with delicate white waves embroidered at each wrist. His over robe was a dark, nearly black, green with forest green serpents trimming the edges. It was cut to close at the throat, flaring open to finally hang just barely curling around in front of the legs with a single ruby teardrop clasp to hold it together at the throat. Harry's pile, on the other hand, was less an outfit and more a pile of things that looked interesting or vaguely intimidating, if worn correctly.

"Harry, how did you pick out our outfits and why don't you have something similar?" Severus asked carefully.

"I, uh, just thought of what I'd like to see you wearing," Harry admitted with a blush, completely ignoring the subject of his own pile of mismatched clothing.

"And why didn't you do the same for yourself?" Voldemort asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. Harry mumbled something and tried to slip past them out of the room only to be snagged and gently pushed back onto the bed.

"I'm not allowed," Harry finally admitted, staring sightlessly over their shoulders at the door behind them and never seeing the sudden anger on his behalf flaring in the eyes of his companions.

"We still have some time before the Dark Lord planned to call everyone in any case and you need to take the potions that we bought. Thankfully all of our new clothing has charms to automatically adjust the size and fit so it wont be an issue once you've finished growing from the Ageing potion. You'll remember from Dumbledore's Age Line that most magical age restrictions read the mind or, more rarely, the soul to determine actual age because of the existence of Ageing potions. You already agreed to allow us to dress you for this so the clothing is our problem while you age back to normal," Snape said carefully as he studied his fellow time/dimension traveler. 

The look of relief and gratitude that earned him made both of them even angrier at the Dursleys, which they both successfully hid from Harry. Taking advantage of the chance to distract the smaller wizard Severus retrieved the remaining potions, including the Ageing potion, and started handing them over in the needed order as they watched Harry quickly take them. The concern they felt over Harry's previous treatment was momentarily banished as the potions began to work with a rather unusual result, Harry's aging stopped dead at 17.

"What happened? Did I not take enough of the aging potions?" Harry asked with a frown, tugging absently at the tight cloths they had all forgotten to have him take off before he took the potions.

"I have no idea and its my field," Severus said with concerned frown. "This shouldn't have happened."

"Ah, yes that's my fault I'm afraid," Death said with a dark chuckle as he once more faded out of the shadows into existence.

"The Hallows?" Harry asked resignedly, Death nodded happily.

"The first time you died after obtaining mastery of all three Hallows, the wand being the last in this case, your aging froze or should have frozen. You purposefully broke my wand less than a week later. Since it took your body some time to adjust to both your normal magical inheritance and the essence of the wand moving into your blood you continued physically aging until about age 21 where it finally froze. We returned you two years later and all three of you had died at least once by the time you would have reached 40. Though you'll be happy to know that both you and Severus here actually continued on until your early eighties before being killed by being at ground zero of a hydrogen bomb. I can't bring you back from disintegration without some serious work and at a high price so try to avoid that this time." Death informed them, practically cackling. "I figured since we were fulfilling the deal any way I would just combine the two. The age/memory restriction was Fate's idea, something about any later destroying your willingness to form attachments and actually save your people. I didn't pay much attention when she explained it since more than half the planet died very quickly shortly after you hit age 25. I was very busy."

"You didn't pay attention or you simply don't want to explain why you picked that particular year?" Voldemort asked suspiciously.

"Oh, alright, you caught me. I don't want to bother explaining why I picked that year. I'm honestly not certain I'm allowed to in any case but the rest of what I said was still true," Death admitted, having far too much fun messing with them.

"Right, is there anything else I need to know about being... about owning the Hallows? I didn't really use them last time and didn't want them either," Harry asked determinedly.

"I am everywhere so I can come at any time. I can also answer most questions but I also may not be allowed to on some or simply wont want to on others. If I don't want to answer you can solve this by ordering me. I generally wont keep something important from you unless it will hurt you or I'm forbidden from sharing it by someone higher up in the hierarchy, of which there are very few. I can change my form and gender to anything I like but tend to continue using this cloaked cross between shadowy living jelly and living skeleton for the simplicity and amusement factor. I, and now you, can use shadows to travel whenever I fell like using an actual travel method instead of simply being where I'm needed. It is possible to pass the title to someone else before your final death but difficult since I have to approve the transfer and I like you. After a certain point I will start bringing you paperwork and other things to your attention for either your decisions on the matter or for you to take care of directly. Enjoy the adjustment period!" Death said with a cackle immediately disappearing and leaving behind three stunned wizards to figure out the rest on their own.


	13. Beetle's Colors

"I think we've just been played," Harry said slowly, breaking the other two out of their own shocked stupors.

"I think you're right," Severus agreed, still a bit stunned at the information they had just been given.

"Well lets sort out Harry's outfit and get ready," Voldemort said decidedly as Severus remembered something an snatched away Harry's glasses earning a "Hey!" from him as the potions master smirked at the now half blind wizard.

"You have to wait at least 3 hours before I give them back. While you were asleep Death said that your eyes will repair themselves if you simply stop using your glasses and these things are hideous in any case," Severus shot back with a smirk, easily and playfully keeping them away from Harry.

"It will also make clothing choice slightly easier," Voldemort agreed, laughter bubbling in his voice as he watched Harry half heartedly try to get his glasses back, who didn't quite believe the fact that he soon wouldn't need them.

"At least he gave us useful information," Severus pointed out as he finally caved to Harry's cute pout and banished the glasses to the drawer of the side table before magically locking said drawer with a loud click. "Though his choice of popping in and out without a sound like that is highly disconcerting."

"Agreed," Voldemort said as they watched Harry huff before gingerly seating himself on the edge of the bed, still half blind. "Though I do wonder what he meant about the wand transferring to Harry's blood."

"Ah, I snapped the wand soon after the final battle. Apparently it didn't get rid of it like I thought and its power moved into my blood as part of the magical title that I never wanted in the first place. I'm hoping that didn't carry over and wont happen this time," Harry said, having to mentally back track for a moment beyond the horrors of death related paperwork to remember Death's commentary about the wand and what happened last time around.

"Yet you kept insisting on claiming it again," Voldemort smirked as he picked out an emerald green acromantula silk shirt that would make Harry's eyes seem to glow for part of tonight's outfit.

"Because I wasn't sure if refusing it would invalidate the deal. I didn't think it was a risk worth taking and the way he acted in the Leaky Cauldron, despite claiming Sirius pretty much confirmed that obtaining the Hallows as quickly as possible was the right thing to do," Harry said sadly. He really had never wanted anything except to be left alone and unremarkable.

"I wonder if wearing that blasted cloak with the invisible side on the inside would allow you to see through it while looking like a normal cloak with the hood covering the face," Severus mused absently as he retrieved the pitch black dragon hide boots the goblins had made for them and set them aside to be worn.

"You know, I never tried that. It would let me see everything while keeping anyone from knowing who I was without having to dodge around anyone," Harry said thoughtfully.

"Tonight we want everyone to know who he is but we can revisit the idea later," Voldemort said dismissively as he tried to decide between dark green or black leather pants for Harry. Severus showed him a nice black leather vest with royal blue embroidery that they both agreed with and neither of them could decide on the over robe that Harry would wear.

"What are you guys doing? I can't see much more than a blur with two giant dark blobs," Harry complained before loosing his balance and sliding to the floor with an _oomph!_

"Sorting out your outfit," Severus said wryly as he silently indicated his preference for the dark green leather pants over the black and after a moment Voldemort nodded his agreement.

"You are _not_ putting me in something gaudy!" Harry told them firmly from his new seat on the floor, earning silent unseen eye-rolls from his companions.

"As if we'd be crass enough to do that when you actually need to make a good impression," Severus said scathingly.

"Where did you guys leave Rita anyway?" Harry asked, choosing to change the subject rather than voice his opinion on whether they would purposefully dress him like a peacock for that night's meeting.

"I thought we left her in here, but I haven't seen her," Voldemort said with a frown.

"I left her in the entryway, as long as the house elves left her alone... Mixy!" Severus called one of the elves, who arrived with a quiet pop before asking where Rita had gotten to. "Ah, do you know where the jar with the live beetle in it has gotten to? The beetle is a nosy reporter animagus we are going to give an interview to, to keep her from making something up and printing it as truth."

"Mixy knowing, Mixy bes getting!" Mixy told him before popping away only to return a moment later with the jar containing Rita, handing it over.

"Thank you, that will be all for the moment," Severus told her politely, she popped away with a nod of understanding.

"We probably don't even have to oblivate her," Harry commented, his eyes still unable to focus but the black blobs that were the other two wizards getting more defined with every second. Feeling his way upwards he slid himself back onto the bed so he was no longer talking upwards from floor level.

"We'll discuss it once your eyes finish repairing themselves," Severus said firmly as he set the still jar encased beetle aside on one of the rich cherry wood dressers. "For now let us finish sorting through the mess of clothes you picked out for tonight's outfit."

"Red?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Why are you asking for red? You don't usually wear it," Severus asked, looking at him oddly.

"Er, hem, I basically just left Hogwarts and I have to test for my OWLs again along with my NEWTs but I was hoping to show a little house spirit or something like that," Harry admitted sheepishly, his eyes staring at the wall behind them and still unable to focus properly.

"Except that the hat wanted you in Slytherin," Voldemort pointed out with a snort of amusement.

"What?" Severus asked, startled into dropping the deep blue over robe he was holding onto the floor. Harry glared halfheartedly towards the blob that had Voldemort's voice and muttered curses under his breath. He correctly guessed that the man had received the memory from the horcrux that Harry once more had embedded in his scar.

"Oh, yes. Our little lion has been a snake in the lion's den the entire time," Voldemort told him with relish.

"Considering Dumbledore made damn sure I had heard bad things about the house before ever getting to the school and the way Draco treated me both on the train not to mention in Madam Malkin's it shouldn't be that much of a surprise," Harry drawled, abandoning the pretense that he was strictly a Gryffindor.

"Brat," Severus said fondly. "Meditate or something until its time to get ready for the meeting, your Occlumency skills are still sorely lacking. Just make sure your eyes stay open so that they can continue to adjust to the lack of glasses."

"Fine," Harry said with a huff before laying back on the bed and staring at the canopy while he tried to organize his mind with little success. 

Severus and Voldemort spoke softly and took their time deciding what all Harry would be wearing that night. Taking full advantage of the fact that he couldn't see well enough to object to any of their choices as Rita watched on in interest from her glass prison. They finally decided upon a black over robe with a dragon embroidered in green on the back.

"Is your vision repaired enough to get washed on your own or do one of us need to help?" Severus asked bluntly, wondering if they should have a snack or sandwiches or something before the meeting.

"Actually its already better than I'm used to so I should be fine as long as there's nothing on the floor for me to trip over," Harry said wryly as he got up from the bed and, taking the hint, headed for the bathroom to start getting ready for the meeting. 

Once dressed the three of them made striking figures in their mostly dark outfits. Harry was very thankful that his eyes were now better than before even with his glasses for all that he still didn't have perfect or near perfect vision. While Harry had used black as the base color for the outfits he picked out for the other men both of them had colored embroidery off setting the leather. Green with silver accents in plant and vine patterns for Severus making his legs look like they were being climbed by vines. Off setting the rest of the outfit he wore a finely woven dark blue acromantula silk shirt peaking out from underneath the vest which matched the pants. With the final touch being his black sleeveless silk over robe with black vine embroidery, occasionally sprouting small black flowers as a nod to his normal heavy black teaching robes to match the black dragon hide boots.

Voldemort, on the other hand, was dressed in black leather pants with a red wave-like pattern in narrow strips down the outside of each leg and a wide belt-like strip around his waist. His shirt was a pure white with small white embroidered waves around the wrist, while his black leather vest had dark red wave embroidery neatly matching the embroidery on the pants. The over robe was a dark, nearly black, green with forest green serpents trimming the edges, the throat closing with a ruby teardrop clasp only for the robe to flare open almost immediately revealing his chest. This left just a hint of cloth to curl almost protectively around the edges of his sides and legs stopping part way down the black dragon hide boots.

Harry made a strikingly similar if also different image, matching yet also contrasting his companions in his own outfit. His shirt was an emerald green that made his eyes practically glow, covered by a black leather vest with royal blue embroidery. He wore plain dark green leather pants, black dragon hide boots, and a black over robe embroidered with a giant green dragon on the back. 

After collecting Rita they moved to a nearby field just out of sight of the house. Voldemort insisted on setting up a dias with three thrones for them to address everyone from. What surprised both of his companions was that he actually did make three thrones rather than only one with nothing for them to sit on or two stools or something similar. Though both of their respective thrones were still slightly smaller than his. When they sat down together, Harry to Voldemort's left and Severus to the man's right, they made an impressive image. It was almost as if they were darkness personified scattered with splotches of light, a nearly perfect picture of three ruling dark princes. The imagery hit Rita hard when she was forced back to human form, one glance was all it took before she was on her knees hoping she wasn't about to die.

"Er, why are you kneeling?" Harry asked breaking the tableau and earning an exasperated sigh from Voldemort. "What? Its not like she's one of your followers."

"And how would you know that? Hmm? Reporters are fairly useful if you can get them to work with you," Severus pointed out in amusement which grew when he saw the dumbfounded look that Harry was sporting.

"How may I serve you my lord?" Rita asked quietly, doing her best to curb her curiosity enough not to get crucioed.

"You prat! You could have just told me she was one of yours," Harry groused, lightly smacking Voldemort's arm in punishment for the obvious prank that had just been pulled on him.

"Now what would be the fun in that?" Voldemort asked with smirk, earning a gaping look of shock from the animagus before she quickly returned her gaze to the floor, blushing fiercely. "On your feet Ms. Skeeter, as usual you will continue to pretend that you are not one of mine. Today you have been kidnapped to interview us and write about a typical Death Eater meeting for the public."

"I'm here as a reporter not one of my lord's servants?" Rita asked carefully before grinning gleefully at Voldemort's confirming nod and positioning herself near the dias, correctly guessing that the interview would occur after everyone had been called.

"Oi! I want an oath that she'll tell the truth," Harry said in annoyance, glaring at the woman when she turned the sweetest smile on him with just a hint of shark-like sharpness.

"I was simply doing my job, Harry dear," Rita protested sweetly, earning a scowl from all three of them.

"Skeeter," Voldemort said warningly, she quickly caught on, nodded her understanding and set about transfiguring some writing materials as Voldemort used Severus' mark to call the others.


	14. Idiots and Interviews

Unlike in the previous timeline Voldemort chose to call everyone who bore his mark rather than simply what remained of the inner circle. He knew that many were still imprisoned in Azkaban or dead, just as he knew that to receive the Dark Mark one must be completely willing and fully committed. Harry hissed in pain at the same time as Severus did their pains coming from mark and scar respectfully as Voldemort used a large chunk of magic to call those sworn to his service.

Voldemort was a bit annoyed to realize that the two wizards he planned to have for the rest of eternity were hurt by one of the more basic parsel charms that he had crafted. Yet he was also pleased that they were so close to him emotionally and magically as to feel it. He silently started plotting the next stage of wooing both of his fellow travelers and wondered if Nagini would be willing to help. He also planned to figure out just why the charm had hurt them and fix it. He would be damned if a simple spell like that hurt his two precious companions whenever it was used if he could help it.

They came in twos and threes and over the course of the next hour the field seemed to fill. To avoid hurting Harry and Severus more than necessary Voldemort had stopped calling everyone through the mark after about five minutes, they still had a decent turn out. He supposed that many of them were there to find out if he was still the same insane bastard as before. The Death Eaters were lucky that he was sane again or most of them would be in large amounts of pain for not trying to help him sooner.

"Before we begin," Voldemort called out, standing and immediately silencing the muttering over both being called and the fact that he had Harry and Severus seated to either side of his throne. "I am willing to release anyone from their oath of service and remove the Dark Mark if I can be given a decent reason why. I will only offer this for the next two weeks and may require that you finish any on-going assignments before removing the mark. I am also granting a general amnesty for anything you have done against me in the past except in certain cases on the condition that from now on any reports are perfectly truthful and that you put forward your best. I am aware of how... unstable I have been in the past and the issue has been fixed. For that you can thank the two men behind me, Harry Potter and Severus Snape. Those who wish to have no more to do with our organization please gather at the left of the dais so that we can place privacy charms as everyone else reaffirms their loyalty."

They looked at him in stunned silence for a moment before sorting themselves out into those leaving his service and those remaining.

"Are we going to do something about the Death Eater's in Azkaban?" Harry asked while everyone sorted themselves out.

"I'm not certain. I would have had to kill more than one of them even with my new policies but I plan to try and get pardons for most of my people," Voldemort admitted, freezing more than one person who was heading for the side of the dias as they reconsidered if they wanted to stay. Voldemort had never tried to get them absolved of their crimes before so what had changed?

"Bellatrix needs treatment by a mind healer but while there were a decent number fighting for their rights there were also those who crossed the line. I recommend that we arrange for a general amnesty except for certain crimes at a later time when we have a better handle on the situation," Severus recommended.

"Why are we discussing this in front of everyone?" Harry asked confused as he realized that the Death Eaters were listening to their conversation.

"Because you brought it up and it needed to be addressed, at least initially," Severus said dryly. "There's also the fact that you are sufficiently distracting for us not to remember to put up privacy charms for every random question you spout. Incidentally can you see properly yet?"

"Oh, um, oops?" Harry said sheepishly much to the amusement of his housemates. "Er, yeah, I've been able see alright since before we got dressed, actually I can see the back of the clearing now."

"Good, we'll be going over the entire potions curriculum later to see if your abysmal class performance was your eyes, sabotage, or simply general incompetence," Severus informed the smaller wizard almost gleefully. Harry was not amused and looked forward to the upcoming grueling potions marathon with dread.

"Not fair!" Harry protested petulantly, aiming a cute pout at the other man that nearly made him melt with only his long experience as both teacher and spy keeping his features impassive and unimpressed. 

Voldemort mentally rearranged a few of his plans as he watched the byplay in amusement before catching sight of a spell tossed at both Harry and Severus from in the crowd. Before he could think his wand was out and a shield was up deflecting the spell away from the dias. Using a combination of the summoning charm hissed in parseltongue and his link to all of the Dark Marks he dragged the offender out of the crowd. His fury was such that it took Harry, realizing what was happening, snatching away his wand for the idiot to avoid being crucioed.

"Give it back," Voldemort demanded his furious ruby eyes never leaving his now cowering target.

"Not until you calm down. The spell didn't hit, we're fine and you don't need to torture him," Harry said soothingly, realizing that he might have reacted similarly if the other two had been threatened. They were the only other people aside from Death, Fate, and Magic to understand and remember what the other timeline was like.

The Death Eaters marveled at both Harry's courage for facing down a furious Voldemort but also for protecting the idiot who had thought it was a good idea to attack like that. Voldemort forced himself to calm down using the sight of both wizards as a ground. When Harry was sure he was calm he returned the man's yew wand and took a reluctant step back to stand closer to Severus, knowing he really didn't have the right to interfere with the Death Eater's punishment.

"You are fortunate that Harry stepped forward. Had your spell landed you would not be getting off so lightly. ~Burn his arm off~" Voldemort said, hissing the command to the tattoo and watching impassively as the man screamed while his arm was utterly destroyed by the magical fire. Severus gripped Harry's arm half holding him back half comforting as they watched until their was nothing but a cauterized stump at the man's shoulder. "You crossed a line, be glad that I left you with your life. Leave and never return."

The man staggered to first his knees then his feet before apparating away.

"Severus Snape and Harry Potter are mine. Harm them and you will face my wrath," Voldemort informed them all coldly. They watched as nearly everyone fell to their knees in either fear or respect.

"What's that supposed to mean? Because if its about that bond thingy or my scar..." Harry demanded in annoyance, shaking off Severus' lightly restraining grip.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Voldemort said with a smirk, his good humor restored by Harry's indignation. "Now before anything else happens I believe we promised Skeeter an interview. As such I will release anyone who chooses to leave my service after we've answered her questions. Ms. Skeeter, if we tell you that we wont answer something then please respect that. I assure you that you wont like the consequences if you ignore it nor if we find that you have printed falsehoods."

"Certainly sir," Rita simpered, deciding that sir was a safe middle ground between the various names that had been attributed to Voldemort while avoiding revealing her own allegiance. "Could you clarify the new agenda you've been hinting at and why you no longer appear to want the Potter Heir dead?"

"Its actually Lord Potter now," Harry said mildly. "Our situation isn't exactly normal, not that my life has ever been normal but... Any way we sorted out a few things at Gringotts when we left Hogwarts after the third task. I got my Lordships and was officially declared an adult while we sorted out the paperwork."

"There are rumors of Death personally collecting Sirius Black yesterday with his death being used to protect you? Can you comment on this?" Rita asked with a verbal pounce.

"Lord Potter came into an inheritance which brought him in close contact with the personality that represents Death. The same personality that both Lord Voldemort and Lord Potter treated with to achieve the magical deal that the three of us are attempting to fulfill. My oaths bound me more closely than usual to both wizards thus I was included when they were sent to this timeline," Severus informed her carefully. "Death did indeed collect Sirius Black and later informed us that Black had suffered extensive mental damage in Azkaban thus posing a risk to Lord Potter. Essentially he killed two birds with one stone, fulfilling a requirement he was unwilling to elaborate on and protecting Lord Potter from a future threat at the same time. Please do not ask what price we will be paying for our agreement to try and save the wizarding world since we are not entirely certain ourselves."

"As for my new agenda, it actually isn't all that different from my original agenda at the start of my first campaign. Reduced or eliminated contact with all muggles, magical primary schools for our children to attend before Hogwarts, and magical orphanages where those without family willing to care for them will receive properly understanding care. There is also the issue of the ministry forbidding magics simply because someone has decided its _dark_. Magic is magic and there is very little difference between Dark and Light magic aside from certain addictive qualities when improperly handled or taught. Now Black is an entirely different story and often requires heinous acts to complete and many confuse Black and Dark magics as the same thing, they are not," Voldemort explained. "Part of the deal that sent us to this timeline requires that we ensure witches and wizards are free to practice all types of magic within a very limited amount of time simply because we are so close to discovery."

"None of the three of us have been treated well by muggles when we were younger but as a result we _are_ more than familiar with exactly how dangerous they are," Harry told her firmly, the intensity in his eyes snaring her and drawing her into the deep green depths. "Now, I'm not saying all muggles are bad but they are immensely dangerous when they choose to be. I would rather fight a dragon barehanded, magicless, and butt naked than anger a muggle government. At least the dragon will only kill me, the muggle government might wipe out the entire wizarding world with the press of a single button. Magic can do many wondrous and terrible things but triggering a chain reaction that could destroy the entire planet isn't usually one of them. If you don't believe me then I suggest you research the second muggle world war, during the time of Grindlewald, and the bombs dropped on Japan, specifically the town of Hiroshima."

"That... is a very scary thought Lord Potter," Rita said with an unconscious shiver of fear.

"The wizarding world is far behind in its advancements. Anger a single muggle who has the right tool, the right _weapon_ to hand and they could slaughter hundreds or thousands in a matter of moments. As far as I know we don't have something like that or if we did then the ministry has done its best to destroy it. The muggles routinely use theirs in their wars, we don't have the numbers to hold up against something like that and every drop of magical blood is precious be it pureblood, half blood, muggleborn, squib, or creature blood," Harry said simply. "To top it off those of us who have been raised in the muggle world are often mistreated because the muggles don't understand what they are facing. They employ methods to cast out, destroy, or otherwise beat the magic out of the magical children given into their care. Tell me Ms. Skeeter what would happen to a witch or wizard who tried to destroy the magic of their children? Who practically tortured them simply for having magic?"

"They would be sentenced to the kiss and it would be administered less than six hours after the sentence was passed. Veritaserum would be used so there would be no mistake as what happened with your dogfather. The same or similar is administered for other forms of harm to children, especially sexual. We do not have the ability to charge muggles in part because doing so would put our world at risk and many times the children are taught to hide it. In this we have similar difficulty to the muggle world, getting the injured party to admit that something happened. What we don't have is a statute of limitations on such crimes, it can be three hundred years later and provided the evidence has survived that long they will still be sentenced to the kiss. Any charge of child abuse strips the accused of all rights until guilt has been determined," Severus explained. Harry nodded absently, thinking about the information he had just been given.

That's when there was a large number of pops off to one side, indicating people apparating into the field and drawing everyone's attention. Voldemort was more than a little annoyed to realize that they were being ambushed by people he remembered being in the Order of the Pheonix during the last timeline.

"Return Harry, Tom, or suffer the consequences!" Dumbledore called out, earning an annoyed mutter from Harry.

"I'm not going with you," Harry shouted back, stalking to the edge of the dias closer to the party crashers and glaring at the group.

"You are coming with us. We just need to break his control of you, boy," Moody informed him as he wordlessly cast an incarcerous at the teen only for it to be dodged using finely honed seeker reflexes.

"Oi! What was that for!" Harry shouted angrily as he drew his wand only to be joined by Voldemort and Severus on either side as they naturally flowed into a combined attack/defense against the on coming wizards. They completely ignored the Death Eaters until spells stared flying from them at the attacking Order. The battle was short and sent the order off a bit worse for wear but mostly unharmed with maybe twenty unlucky Death Eaters needing to be revived by their comrades and another thirty needing medical treatment.

"Okay, what is wrong with them?" Harry asked in complete annoyance as he dropped off of the dias to stalk over to the injured Death Eaters and start healing what minor wounds he could.

"From the commentary I believe that they think we have you enspelled or under some sort of controlling potion," Severus said with a snort as he healed one of the few more serious injuries that came from the skirmish.

"Grrr, what is it going to take to get it through their thick skulls!" Harry half shouted in frustration.

"If they keep fighting us like this we'll never get everything done peacefully inside the timelimit," Voldemort said thoughtfully as he revived another Death Eater.

"No, I'm not doing it," Harry said shortly, seeing the thoughtful look aimed his way.

"Ah, but you made a decent king in the other timeline, did you not?" Voldemort asked with a wicked smile.

"It was a nightmare! I'm not doing it again," Harry shot back furiously.

"And if its the only way to fulfill the deal and save the wizarding world?" Voldemort asked with a quirked eyebrow. Harry's shoulders immediately slumped as he grumbled, cursing under his breath but not denying that he would do it.

"If someone can find out and tell me why Dumbledore is acting like this it would be easier to deal with," Harry said changing the subject and ignoring the triumphant smirk and the amusement from his housemates.

"Everyone is to write up their reports of everything significant that has happened since the death of the Potters. Please remember to write the final report on the special parchment that Potions Master Snape will be sending you. Should you choose to leave my service say so at the end of the report and you will be called individually to remove my mark since our little meeting was interrupted. You are all dismissed," Voldemort told the Death Eaters as he gathered up Severus and Harry before heading for the house, leaving Nagini to continue hiding in the grass and listening to the various conversations.

"What special parchment?" Severus asked as they entered the house, wondering how many potions ingredients he was going to have to order.

"As long as you are certain that its been soaked sufficiently in truth serum I don't actually expect you to make the parchment yourself," Voldemort assured the dour man. Before either of the wizards could move away from him he grabbed them both and kissed them, an evil smug smirk plastered on his face as they looked back at him stunned.

"Wha?" Harry asked, wide eyed.

"Mine," Voldemort said smugly as he led the two shocked wizards into his bedroom, sealing it so that they couldn't escape once they came out of their shock.

"Not that I mind all that much but... why?" Harry asked, completely unsure of himself and what was going on.

"Some of your dreams have been bleeding through, I thought it only appropriate that I grant some of them," Voldemort informed him, smirking as he handed over clothes for the other two and gestured towards the adjoining bathroom.

"Fighting wont help. He made it clear when we first arrived that he wont accept us with anyone else," Severus grumbled as he slipped into the bathroom to do his business and change into the provided night clothes. Harry shrugged, not willing to fight over it for the moment and followed suit when the bathroom was free.


	15. Marriage Proposal

Harry slowly rose to consciousness, the low sounds of arguing both familiar and almost comforting until he began to comprehend the words and recognize the voices.

"No! He's going to be angry enough when he realizes the precautions we have already taken," Severus hissed at, who Harry presumed was Voldemort.

"He didn't argue and barely reacted to my claim. He didn't even try to leave last night! Something is wrong and I don't plan to let him out of our bed until we've healed him," Voldemort argued back.

"Did you even consider he simply might have been tired? He put more into containing that vase than we did and I still get tired fairly easily," Severus countered. "You said his dreams have been bleeding through, did any bleed through last night?"

"Just a feeling of warmth and safety," Voldemort growled in frustration.

"That's a good thing! It means he feels safe with us and it makes it far more likely that he was simply exhausted. Now stop overreacting," Severus ordered forcing the other man to stop and take a deep breath. "Alright, now you need to tell me why you reacted so badly, where is the confident Dark Lord who has struck terror into the hearts of most of Wizarding Britain?"

"He's mostly dead along with Tom Riddle. Marvolo Slytherin on the other hand is having trouble keeping his two precious people safe!" Voldemort said in frustrated worry, stunning both wizards speechless as he began to pace. Harry quietly got up and pulled Voldemort into a hesitant hug only to be clutched in a death grip.

"Sev is right, I'm just tired. I didn't fight because of how stubborn you are and if you're seeing my dreams it would be pointless," Harry explained softly. "Come to think of it are you seeing them through the soul bond or the horcrux connection or something else?"

Voldemort muttered something inaudible and Harry let it slide as he realized exactly how worried Voldemort had been.

"Hey, hey, you're not going to loose us, alright? Remember what Death said? Sev wont die until we do and I'm Death's master. I'm also your Horcrux so when you need a new body we can just make one. I still remember what Dumbledore taught me about you and what I figured out about how you feel about dying. Its alright we aren't going anywhere. Just like you are still Tom Riddle and Voldemort even if you decide to change your name to Marvolo Slytherin," Harry soothed as Voldemort buried his face in Harry's neck and hair. It took nearly two hours of cuddling like that for Voldemort to calm down enough to talk rationally but the fact that both of his housemates were still there when he was done with his panic attack relieved him greatly.

"I thought... I thought I'd missed something when the idiot or Dumbledore attacked," Voldemort admitted sheepishly, his cheeks stained a deep pink in embarrassment. "Severus also told me about the muggle assassin and how he nearly couldn't save you from the poison on the knife."

"Right," Harry said, deciding not to pursue the matter just yet and change the subject to spare the other man more obvious embarrassment. "So, what's this about you seeing my dreams?"

"I've been pulled into a number of your more erotic dreams since we were sent back," Voldemort greatfully accepted the subject change, wanting to completely forget his panic attack while still happily trying to embarrass the younger wizard. "There are obvious signs that you want to keep both of us but aren't sure who to pick if you're forced to choose. Severus has already passed most of the tests I would administer to anyone who I was going to trust you with and I can't think of anyone else who would understand what the three of us have been through."

"That makes a bit more sense," Harry said with a smile of contentment playing about his lips as his cheeks tinted with a slight blush. "Just, next time actually ask? It would have saved a lot of trouble and you wouldn't have gone into a panic attack because I was tired enough not to mess with you after the day we had."

"I take it that our move into the same bedroom is permanent?" Severus asked scathingly, already knowing the answer.

"Oh yes," Voldemort said with an evil grin, slipping back into a more confident stance. "Now that we know Harry isn't ill we can have breakfast and discuss whether to kidnap the Wizengamot, make Harry king of all magical Britain, address the various creature factions, or try to talk some sense into the muggle government."

"I'm not taking up the crown again!" Harry growled shoving Voldemort slightly in annoyance as he grabbed a set of clothes and slipped into the bathroom to change. They made their way into the elegantly appointed wood paneled dinning room and sat together at one end of the table with Voldemort at the head. It wasn't long before that morning's special edition of the Prophet was delivered. 

"Well, its not exactly what we were hoping for," Severus said neutrally.

"I told you we needed an oath from her." Harry told them, glaring at the blaring headline of the Prophet claiming he had successfully rehabilitated the Dark Lord Voldemort.

"There are a few advantages to this but I'm not certain if we want to try capitalizing on it or not," Severus pointed out with a grimace.

"Actually publicly admitting what my childhood was like could enhance the effect of this and would definitely make Dumbledore look bad. While I had hoped that we could work with the old man to avoid having some sort of rebellion or attempts to destroy us his recent activity makes that fairly impossible," Voldemort told them with a grimace.

"I'm not happy with her and I hate looking weak but if you're willing to fess up to them I'm willing to admit how the Dursleys treated me," Harry said, clearly unhappy at the prospect.

"Death did say he expected us to do something about them and I'm not certain we want to find out what he'll do if we don't punish them for hurting Harry. It would also give the wizarding world a viable muggle target that the Ministry has absolutely no hope of stopping while looking bad in the process. If we clear it with the muggle government via Gringotts it could also ease the separation and/or transition," Severus said thoughtfully.

"I was still hoping you'd forgotten about that," Harry said miserably, earning unimpressed looks from his companions.

"You're lucky we've waited this long to start seriously planning their demise," Voldemort said blandly.

"I wouldn't mind seeing Umbridge dead after the way she used blood quills on the students the last time around," Harry admitted as he toyed with his fork.

"Is that what you were shouting about in the graveyard? I didn't realize she'd used blood quills on the students," Severus said darkly before taking a sip of his coffee.

"She also tried to crucio me before Hermione tricked her into going into the Forbidden Forest, dragging us with her at wand point, and got on the wrong side of the Centaurs," Harry told them as he happily remembered the way they had later tormented the pink toad with clip-clop sounds. "Hey, why wasn't Lucius at the meeting last night?"

"I'd forgotten, we received a letter from him during our recovery after the vase fiasco and told him not to attend the meeting. He has his own tasks to complete," Voldemort told the smaller wizard. "I'm rather enjoying tormenting him but he's doing decently so I may have to stop. That said he's likely delivering Wormtail to the Auror's with my compliments at the moment, your godfather should be cleared posthumously before long. Also, Nagini didn't have much to report last night after listening in on the minions. It was mostly surprise that I'm actually sane again and envy that the two of you have managed to be seated on the dias with me, of course they don't know that I plan to marry the two of you."

"Thank you," Harry said quietly as they returned to their meal, until the last sentence registered to the two of them. Both Severus and Harry gaped at Voldemort who calmly finished his food before smugly retiring to the sitting room to wait for them to come back to themselves.

"Did he just propose to us?" Severus choked out and Harry nodded dumbly.

"He can't be serious," Harry said in disbelief.

"I wouldn't bet on it," Severus shot back, regaining his normal equilibrium. "I also wouldn't put it past him to be writing up a marriage contract as we speak and then finding some way to trick us into signing it."

They looked at each other in uncertainty than quickly abandoned their meals to make sure that Voldemort wasn't doing just that. Voldemort looked up from his book as they barreled into the sitting room where he was reading and wondered what had gotten into the other two wizards, arching an inquisitive eyebrow at them.

"Er, sorry. We thought... that is never mind. We'll just go back and finish our breakfast Harry said sheepishly, never noticing Nagini slipping into the room as he dragged Snape back to the dining room with him.

"What was that about?" Voldemort wondered only for Nagini to start laughing.

"~They thought that you were making a mate agreement when you already told they are to be your mates.~" Nagini cackled as she laughed herself into convulsions.

"A mate..? Do you mean a marriage contract? I suppose we will have to write one at some point," Voldemort said thoughtfully a wicked grin splitting his face in two. He immediately started plotting what he wanted in the marriage contract and how he would get his intended's, for that's what they were now, to agree with whatever he came up with. It wasn't long before they re-joined him in the sitting room Voldemort's wicked grin and Nagini at his feet still laughing occasionally telling both of them that the serpent had snitched on them.

"Don't say it," Harry warned taking a comfortable green velvet chair facing the couch Voldemort had chosen while Severus took a matching one across from him.

"Why ever not?" Voldemort asked sweetly. "We will have to write a marriage contract at some point."

"Because we aren't ready," Severus said quietly as he scowled, practically pouting, in his seat. Voldemort immediately sobered and nodded his understanding.

"As long as you understand that if anyone tries to take the two of you from me I will kill them," Voldemort warned earning a nod from both wizards. "Now, if Harry is truly insistent on avoiding being the ruler of the magical world, provided Death, Magic, and Fate don't require it in the first place, we can find an alternative."

"I hadn't thought of that," Harry admitted with a groan. He really didn't want to become the penultimate magical ruler but he also had to admit that he had done a half decent job compared to past rulers he could remember from his muggle history classes.

"I suppose that we could consult with Death on the matter but you may not like his answer," Severus said pondering the situation, knowing that the smaller wizard really hated the attention and power that he had had as the other timeline's magical ruler.

"How do we even talk to him any way?" Harry asked with a petulant scowl, not really wanting to confirm the dread in his gut saying he was going to be stuck ruling all magical races, again.

"By asking," Death said with a laugh as he faded into existence just behind his master, scaring Harry into tumbling from his seat and startling the other two.

"Don't do that!" Harry scolded as he returned to his feet, glaring at the still laughing apparition.

"Oh, joy. Death is a prankster," Severus dead panned.

"I have to have a sense of humor to appreciate the efforts of anyone who challenges me," Death informed them as he moved so that all three of them could see him when sitting and Harry returned to his seat. "That said, yes, one of you will have to rule at least Wizarding Britain, eventually taking control of all other magical realms still on earth. You see part of the problem is that there needs to be an ultimate authority, not just a proper balance between the magics. In times past it wasn't really an issue since you all managed yourselves rather well, having a clear chain of command and responsibility at the upper levels. Now anyone wants to do is play the blame game and laze about not doing their jobs, anyone who actually tries gets destroyed by those higher up the ladder before they can gain enough influence to get things done. There are a few exceptions like that Amelia Bones and Arthur Weasley but for the most part its a ridiculous mess."

"I see," Voldemort said thoughtfully. "Is this one of the reasons that you earlier told us that if the situation isn't fixed you'll leave us as the only magicals?"

"In part," Death said with a nod. "As you know wizards can get pregnant and..."

"What?!" Harry demanded in shock. He had been completely clueless that magical males could have children together and hadn't been allowed to attend the sex ed class at Hogwarts for some reason he had never quite figured out.

"Right, Dumbledore kept a great deal from you and you didn't manage to learn all of it... Any magical person or creature can get pregnant, though for some they need a bit of help to make it safe enough to carry the child to term," Death explained patiently. "That said it is also nearly impossible to kill the child in the womb without killing the bearer as well after the first month since the magic of both bearer and child naturally attempt to protect the fetus. This is one of the many ways that Magic has arranged to stay healthy and vital in her peoples. It is also nearly impossible to conceive if one is raped since it takes the consent of the bearer for the magic to help create the child otherwise it sees the act as simply a vicious attack to defend against. Trickery can still be used which is why there are some old laws about line theft are still in effect."

"Why can't I have a normal life?" Harry asked with a cute pout that he failed to notice practically had the other two melting in their seats.

"And put some other poor sod through all of this? Not to mention the fact that few wizards have souls strong enough to match that of the old heroes?" Death asked mildly, amused at Harry's childish antics and slightly impressed at the way he was trying to deflect the subject along with his lack of knowledge on it.

"Is there any particular reason why Harry must be the one to take up the crown?" Voldemort asked with a frown, ignoring Harry's well played antics.

"He is the one we prefer but any of the three of you would be acceptable provided the others helped. Of course we doubt that Severus would be well pleased to abandon his precious potions to take up the mantle and you would need some way of staying grounded but yes, any of you could rule," Death informed them.

"Fine... what's up with Dumbledore any way?" Harry asked, his annoyance fading as he waited for an understandable answer.

"A combination of wanting to maintain control, wish for immortality, fading fame, and the curse from my wand. A curse which I should tell you that you are immune to as both a Peverell and as my master," Death told them. "He's promised you to the Weasley girl and is the reason for many of your problems both past and present. If he finally admits to himself that you are fully out of his control he will try to kill you, possibly after vilifying you to the public."

"Lovely," Harry said in disgust and sadness, throwing his arms in the air as he slumped into his chair.

"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Severus asked in concern, knowing just how much of a manipulative bastard the Headmaster could be from first hand experience.

"He knew about the abuse that all of you suffered and decided, unilaterally, that you needed to remain in those conditions, working hard to keep you all there. He was once an aspiring Dark Lord alongside his lover Grindelwald and it was in fact his spell that killed his sister. Though she forgives him for that his actions since have disgusted her, especially since it led to the his attempts to play god," Death told them. "He is a problem and will eventually have to be killed."

"I see," Voldemort's eyes flashed with a renewed fury.

"We're going to have to discuss part of this with the muggle queen and probably the goblins," Severus pointed out, keeping his own anger sharply in check.

"At least we wont have time for you to run me through the entire potions curriculum," Harry pointed out dryly, sitting up properly in his chair. "So, where do we start? Dragging the idiots in the ministry into line? Talking with the other heads of state? Killing Dumbledore?"

"How about your relatives?" Severus asked with a smirk. Harry looked at him blankly earning an eye roll and an explanation. "Your fame and the way that Skeeter portrayed us in this morning's paper. If we publicly out the way that your relatives treated you and firmly point the blame at Dumbledore for placing you there we can make a decent start on all of those fronts. Of course it also means that you'll likely be the one to take the crown but you can always have us help with that."

"Do I have to give Skeeter the story?" Harry asked in a pained tone of voice.

"It would have a larger impact," Severus pointed out with raised eyebrows. "You know she probably has the largest following in all of Wizarding Britain aside from yourself."

"She embellishes it to make me look like a weakling or a cry baby I'm killing her," Harry decided but otherwise didn't object to the interview as Death gave a quiet chuckle and faded away.


	16. Interview Take 2!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This weird spurt of inspiration is not normal for me and one of the reasons why I don't give regular updates since it can come rapid-fire like these recent chapters or be on a dry spell for months. I hope you all continue to enjoy my work.  
> Stories are meant to be read and enjoyed, whatever else they may do.
> 
> For those wondering why I can't give regular updates one of the reasons is my style of muse, another is the fact that I have physical damage to my brain that screws with the process and can erase an entire story or more in my head before I can get it onto paper or a computer. I thank you all for not badgering me obsessively when my brain decides to go on a vacation and I have to re-invent the wheel several times to bring you a new chapter.
> 
> For such patience and willingness to explore the twisted depths of my mind I dedicate this chapter to all of you.  
> HAVE FUN!  
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before Harry knew it they were sitting in that same sitting room across from a very pleased Rita Skeeter who had carte blanche to ask all three of them questions about their lives.

"I still want an oath of absolute truthfulness whenever she's writing about us," Harry grumbled, seated on the black leather couch next to both Voldemort and Severus.

"Truth doesn't sell papers, darling," Rita said sweetly, batting her overlong eyelashes at him and earning glowers from his fiances in the process.  
Nagini hissed a chuckle from near their feet as she enjoyed the discomfort that her humans were letting themselves be put through.

"Ask," Voldemort ordered, resisting the urge to rip her eyes out for looking at Harry like a prime side of meat. Rita straightened with a nod suddenly a professional doing her job. Tapping her wand to a special quill that would record everything word for word she started the interview.

"Hello gentlemen. I am, as you know, Rita Skeeter and you have graciously agreed to an interview with me to be printed in the Daily Prophet," Rita said, explaining the situation for the quill to record. "Just for the record would the three of you please introduce yourselves?"

"Potions Master Severus Snape," Snape said curtly.

"Harry Potter," Harry said unhappily, not bothering to list the various titles he now held and honestly not wanting most of them to be known.

"Tom Riddle but the public knows me better as Lord Voldemort. That said no one has to worry about saying my name anymore I've removed the taboo magic," Voldemort admitted, trying to get some of the more ridiculous reactions out of the way. "Frankly its insulting the alternatives that everyone has come up with and I can't simply use Dark Lord anymore after the events on June 24 since I'm not the only one with a claim to that title."

"Hey! I have no idea how I've got either Lord of Magic title!" Harry protested, successfully easing the tension a bit as he pouted cutely and earning a chuckle of amusement and fondness from his fiances.

"How did the two of you end up being declared both as a Dark Lord and as a Light Lord, sharing the two titles?" Rita asked quickly, avarice gleaming in her eyes.

"I'm not entirely sure but it could have had something to do with the magical deal we made with Death, Magic, and Fate," Harry said carefully in a thoughtful tone of voice. "Though the Centaurs said that Voldemort earned the Dark Lord title the hard way, which sort of makes sense and explains why the deal had to put his mind back together."

"Mind and soul, imp, mind and soul," Voldemort reminded him, mirth dancing in his eyes as amusement bubbled in his voice.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to tell everyone that," Harry said with a shrug. "I know you've got most of your soul back but I always wondered how much is missing now that its just.. you know?"

"From my calculations, now that I know the ritual takes half rather than a sliver, I have roughly 125 parts out of 128. You have two of them and my familiar has the third. You need just over half a soul to remain sane and the first time I performed that ritual I split my soul evenly in two, which is one of the reasons I bargained to try and fix the mess I made over the years. Its my own fault for not specifying talking to my teenage self rather than simply my past self. They could have sent me back 5 minutes and it would have qualified though it wouldn't have done much good with the state I was in," Voldemort explained. "I have no idea why they picked the end of the triwizard tournament but it could have been the magics I was using to regain my body at the time."

"Do you have anything to say about the many people you have killed, tortured, and ordered horrendous things done to over the years?" Rita asked carefully, trying to stay in her aggressive reporter persona yet not wanting to get crucioed.

"I will not apologize for that would lessen their heroism and sacrifices but war was the only way I could see to bring needed change to our world. With Dumbledore and his followers blocking my every peaceful attempt to bring change and understanding to the point of being attacked more than once I had to do something to wake up the wizarding world. I admit that my increasing insanity was not helpful and am thankful that Lord Potter was able to help me piece myself back together via the deal and by being one of the few beings able to keep me grounded. Can you honestly say that if someone is painted to be a villain by Dumbledore that most of the Wizarding World would at least bother to hear the accused person out? That is what happened to me. Constantly sending me back to the orphanage during my schooling to be abused, repeatedly exorcised, and threatened with death didn't help all that much either," Voldemort said mildly, using his Occlumency shields to help keep the memories and pain at bay.

"Ex-xorcised?!" Rita said with a squeak.

"I'll admit that it was better than being burned alive but I'm not certain how much better," Voldemort told her firmly meeting her eyes as Harry leaned against his side in a comforting manner. "Exorcisms are useful against actual demon possession but on someone who isn't possessed? It can be dangerous, especially for a child and even more so if the officiating priests decide that you shouldn't be given food or drink during the time. Any child's magic will react to that, which is of course taken to mean that they are in fact possessed. If I had been placed in a magical orphanage or someone had actually checked to see if I had magical relatives that would be willing to take me in it is very possible that I never would have needed to delve into the dark arts."

"And then magic would still be dying and we'd all be stripped of our magic before the decade was out," Severus said lightly, breaking up the gloomy atmosphere that the interview had taken on.

"Yes," Voldemort said with a mirthless chuckle.

"Doesn't make it right," Harry muttered.

"No, imp, it doesn't but that is why I want to build the magical orphanages and magical primary schools," Voldemort said softly as he absently ran his fingers through Harry's hair. "So that others wont have to suffer the way we did."

"While I thank you for the startling insight into your childhood perhaps we should ask the Boy-Who-Lived about his own sterling childhood?" Rita suggested lightly, anticipating a much happier subject and not realizing that Voldemort had been completely serious about the "we" in his last sentence.

"Sterling? I was treated like a house elf and slept in the cupboard under the stairs until I got my Hogwarts letter," Harry said with a self-deprecating snort. "I've known since I was four that I had to earn my keep and that my so called _family_ would happily dance on my grave the moment I died. I've cooked all the meals since I was five and if I don't manage to somehow finish the unending list of chores each day I don't get to eat. Even before we managed to fix Voldemort's sanity I was often better off being his prisoner than going back to the Dursleys and its not like the hatred was all that different. The only reason they didn't simply drown me in the river or push me off a cliff somewhere was because I was family and my staying there provided some sort of protection for _them_. They could care less what happens to me and would happily watch me burn if they could get away with it."

"All three of us have had similar childhoods and it has recently come to our attention that Dumbledore not only knew of our circumstances but actually put effort into sending us back, forcing us to live in such danger," Severus explained with a sigh. "Lord Potter has forbidden the two of us from bringing the Dursleys to justice yet Death has flat out told us to do something about them. Our own tormentors, aside from Dumbledore and various former schoolmates, have all been confronted and dealt with, Harry's... have not."

"I don't want the two of you thrown in Azkaban over something that I'd rather forget. Its not like it matters," Harry shot back, ignoring the look of pure astonishment on Rita's face in favor of making sure both of his fiances didn't get killed on his account.

"Of course it matters," Voldemort said softly, wrapping an arm around the smaller too tense wizard.

"Eh, I'm alive and no one's ever really cared about me. Oh, sure they care about the Boy-Who-Lived but that could have just as easily been Neville," Harry said in self-deprecation.

"Take that back," Severus said in a low menacing tone he almost never uses unless he's threatening another Death Eater, startling Harry into looking at him wide eyed.

"But I..." Harry stuttered before swallowing hard and looking into the obsidian eyes of the dour man, seeing an unending flood of pain. "I'm sorry, I know you care but for the longest time I thought you hated me."

"And you know why I had to act that way," Severus said quietly, the pain easing from both eyes and his loosening muscles.

"Yeah, I do," Harry agreed as he quietly took Severus' hand, knowing that the intensely private man wouldn't allow much more than that in the form of public affection.

"While very touching why don't we address something a little less... depressing," Rita suggested delicately.

"What? Like the vase we had to contain when visiting the muggle queen or something?" Harry asked, completely clueless.

"You did? Would you tell me about it?" Rita asked excitedly, latching onto the much lighter topic immediately. She already had plans to ask uncomfortable questions of her readers with the information she had already gained but that wasn't any reason to end on a bad note with these powerful men.

"Er, I accidentally tripped an old curse that was on a vase in Buckingham Palace and we had to scramble to contain it when we were attending a royal audience. The Queen caught one of her magical guards reading that weird note that went out to all magicals after I accidentally tripped some other old magic at Gringotts that read what we're trying to stop and decided it was a real threat. Also, if anyone wants to know I hated being the king of all magical peoples in the other timeline and will avoid being stuck with the job if at all possible," Harry summarized ending with a shudder over the thought of being made the magical king _again_. Rita just stared at him open mouthed as the enchanted quill scribbled away recording everything word for word.

"Why don't you just declare yourself their savior that they must bow down and worship because you keep getting into ridiculous amounts of trouble? Oh, wait, Dumbledore already did that," Severus said in sarcastic amusement which only deepened at the dirty look Harry sent his way.

"I believe we are done for the moment," Voldemort said decidedly, rising only to usher the reporter out of the room before returning to find Harry cuddled up against Severus' side, obviously tired.

"He tires so easily now," Severus said in quiet worry, trying not to disturb the half asleep imp that was slowly finding his way into the older man's lap.

"It worries me as well," Voldemort admitted as he absently summoned a pair of books before settling on the couch next to them and handing over the potions book to the dour man. They spent the rest of the day simply reading and relaxing together in the sitting room as Harry napped off and on until supper time when the complementary special evening edition of the Prophet arrived.

"Seriously? Its like I'm the second coming of Merlin or something!" Harry said in exasperation when he saw the title of the article.

"At least she seems to have printed the entire interview word for word. No doubt many of the staff at Hogwarts are going to be demanding answers from me either via owl or come September first," Severus muttered with dry amusement only to dodge a stinging hex a moment later sending a look of disbelief towards Voldemort who was calmly setting his wand back down. "What was that for?"

"For thinking I would allow either of you to walk back into that Chimera's nest, especially while Dumbledore is still the Headmaster," Voldemort said reasonably, completely serious about the matter.

"I don't have much choice, I'm under a binding magical contract," Severus admitted, refusing to meet their eyes.

"Don't we get a seat on the board as the Heirs of Hogwarts? And doesn't the board have a say in who is hired as staff?" Harry asked speculatively.

"Oh, we get more than that," Voldemort said with an evil grin, seeing where Harry was going with this. "Severus Tobias Snape, as an early wedding gift you are hereby released from any and all contracts or agreements made with the Headmaster of Hogwarts by the power invested in me as a Hogwarts Heir and Lord Slytherin."

They all felt the magic swirl around Severus and more than one magical binding broke with a loud _CRACK_ before the surge of magic finally died away with the echo of an enraged scream that sounded eerily like Dumbledore.

"Well, that was more than a little disturbing," Harry said with an odd look in his eyes. "Not that I'm complaining but... just how many magical oaths and agreements did that bastard have on Severus? And who else has he done that too?"

"I do not know but I am very very glad that it worked," Severus said happily, a heavy weight having lifted from his shoulders with each crack of sound. They finished their food, not really sure how to respond to that and moved to the sitting room. Before Harry could take more than five steps into the room he had been swept up in Voldemort's arms and was being thoroughly kissed.

"What was that about?" Harry asked dazedly as he was finally released from the kiss.

"A reminder," Voldemort said before pouncing on a startled Severus and kissing him just as breathless. Quickly gathering both of his stunned fiances up he ushered them ahead of him into their bedroom, this time not bothering to lock them in as he got ready for bed.

"What? You're not going to press your advantage?" Harry asked, confused at the sudden lack of lust coming from the red-eyed man.

"I promised Severus and, indirectly, you that I would not force either of you. I may kiss you, I may hug you and cuddle, what I wont do is take it further without your consent," Voldemort told them both very clearly, mirth and pure want dancing in his eyes as he slipped into the restroom to change.

"Damn, he _knows_ how sexy that is! He has to," Harry said with a lust filled whimper and Severus groaned his agreement.

"I... I wouldn't object to taking it further," Severus said almost hesitantly, wondering if he was going to get burned by suggesting they take Voldemort up on his offer so soon or if he was shortly going to be deliriously happy having both of them.

"Neither would I but I'm not sure I'm up to it tonight," Harry admitted, suddenly tired. "I think... if you don't mind waiting, that we should just cuddle tonight."

"I'm not opposed either way," Voldemort told them walking from the bathroom dressed in his night clothes with a wicked smirk splitting his face.

"The two of you can go ahead," Harry offered hesitantly but the half crushed half hopeful look he gave them made it clear he didn't really want them to do anything without him.

"Harry, we both have more of an attraction with you than with each other," Severus said gently, recognizing the problem immediately. "If you let us we will do our best to take care of you in every way. While we may develop just as strong of a connection with each other over time as we will have with you it will take some time because of our previous history."

"Alright, if you're sure?" Harry said, visibly brightening almost immediately.

"We're sure," Voldemort assured him. "We are a triad but as in any relationship it does take time to establish trust and a bond. While we three have a bond but it hasn't always been a nice one. It will take hard work on all our parts to maintain our relationship and take it further. Sex, while nice, isn't everything. Come, lets go to bed since you're tired."

They went to bed and cuddled for more than an hour before succumbing to sleep. Death chuckled to himself as he watched them slip into Morpheus' embrace. They dreamed. Their dreams took an unexpected turn as they went from personal individual dreams through a cloud of fog, slipping into a joint dream.


	17. Dreams

Severus grinned widely, his normal mask completely gone, as he finally saw what or rather who was beyond the cloud of fog in his dream, Harry and Voldemort dressed in nothing but their night clothes. Knowing he was asleep Severus practically purred with the possibilities of what he could do with his dream partners, not yet realizing that they weren't simply dream constructs but the minds of his fiances. He quickly strode over to them, his black teaching robes flapping dramatically as he confidently swooped down on Harry and dragged him into a deep kiss.

"What?" Harry asked dazedly as Severus smirked down at the smaller wizard.

"I am going to enjoy making you mine," Severus told him with a dark chuckle, fully expecting Voldemort to object in some way or enforce his own claim on the both of them.

"What makes you think I'll let you keep him all to yourself?" Voldemort asked darkly as he gripped Severus' hair and made the other man look him in the eye. Seeing the playfulness and enjoyment at the slightly rough handling he realized that not only was this actually Severus. He also realized with a smirk that the other man had intentionally provoked his apparent dream self hoping for the possessive behavior. "Ah, I see. You wanted proof that I will not cast you aside and how protective I'm going to be of our little imp. Perhaps I should just conjure a collar for both of you and keep you as pampered pets? No, that wouldn't suit either of you."

"I'm not little," Harry protested with an eye roll, shoving free of Severus' grip. "And I don't need to be collared like a dog."

The barely hidden disgust in Harry's voice drew both their attention's immediately, forcing Severus to realize this was no ordinary dream. Voldemort released his grip on Severus neither managed to question Harry before the surrounding clouds started to broil, darkening in one area as a large looming shape of a man started to form.

"Boy!" The voice of Vernon Dursley roared out of the nearly black section of the clouds, making Harry instinctively back up in obvious fear.

"No, no, no, not Vernon," Harry pleaded quietly. "They died, they're dead!"

"I'm going to strip the flesh from your back, _FREAK_!" Vernon practically screamed in rage as he lumbered from the black boiling clouds, belt in hand, buckle swinging free as he charged towards Harry ready to brutally whip him into submission.

Severus and Voldemort quickly stepped in front of him wands raised, casting their spells with barely a thought. Vernon tumbled to the ground screaming bloody murder was blood poured from a quickly healing deep gash from one of the spells. The man surged back to his feet almost instantly, somehow seeming to get larger and more menacing as he approached the trio, the previous damage completely gone.

"You freaks wont be able to stop me. This time I know _exactly_ where to chain his miserable ungrateful hide until he begs to be allowed his rightful place!" Vernon said cruelly, casually knocking the two older wizards aside as he reached for a trembling Harry.

"Avada Kedavera!" Voldemort spat trusting Severus to either pull Harry away or use his own hard won dueling skills to hit the threat to their imp. Severus cast a strong Protego, putting a shield between the walrus of a man and his still smaller target. The moment Voldemort's spell struck Vernon fell and the entire area shook as if from an earthquake with the corpse quickly fading into nothingness.

"Voldy? Sev?" Harry asked in disbelief, finally cluing in to the fact that this wasn't a normal dream or nightmare.

"Oh, imp," Voldemort said softly, sympathy in his voice as they quickly moved to bracket Harry between them in a hug.

"Don't scare us like that brat!" Severus scolded, breathing deeply and simply enjoying Harry's scent.

"That was far too accurate to be simply a dream construct. It had to have been based on a memory. Imp, you are _never_ getting near that beast again," Voldemort told him, worry still shining in his eyes as they scanned for other potential threats.

"I thought... am I dreaming? Are you really here?" Harry asked, confused.

"It seems we're sharing dreams tonight. I was rather hoping to enjoy one of my more personal dreams involving the two of you," Severus drawled, his mask mostly back in place.

"I think we can oblige," Voldemort shot back with a smirk, mentally commanding the once more fluffy white clouds to form into a replica of their real bedroom around them. With an evil smirk he quickly dumped the other two onto the bed and stripping them all down to their underwear with another thought. "Mine."

"Possessive bastard," Harry said with a fond laugh, his breath quickening in anticipation of the fun times to come.

"While I may not make you wear a collar everywhere we are definitely in need of one for both of you so that everyone knows that you're mine," Voldemort said mock seriously as he joined them on the bed which seemed to suddenly expand to a size that could fit ten people. "Especially people that think they own the two of you. You're mine, no one else's."

Harry moaned in pleased surprise and lust as Voldemort buried his face in the crook of the smaller wizard's neck. He started to lick and suck his way along the skin before latching onto the imp's Adam's apple and marking him with an enthusiastic hickey. Severus watched in amusement and was unprepared for when Voldemort turn on him, grabbing his leg and pulling him flat as he dove in, giving the other man the same treatment. Once his task was accomplished the handsome ruby-eyed man leaned back on his heels and stared down smugly at his lust dazed fiances. _I'll need to do this when we wake up so that they remember they're mine..._ Voldemort's thoughts were interrupted as an enthusiastic Gryffindor tackled him backwards to give as good as he got, quickly being joined by a freely laughing former dungeon bat. A fun tussle followed as they playfully wrestled, warding off more nightmares from all of their minds. The winner often used their upper hand to make their victims feel good, encouraging the lustful carefree attitude that permeated their dream. 

They were finally woken by a worried house elf around lunch time. One thing that they all noticed as they got dressed, Severus and Harry with slight embarrassment, Voldemort with smugness, was that the hickeys on their necks had transferred from their dream into the real world. They were handed several important letters that had arrived that morning quickly being chivied into getting ready for the day and being ushered into the dinning room for food before they had a chance to more than glance at the mail.


	18. Mail Call

In the mail there was a letter from Luna, one from Gringotts, one with the symbol of the Wizengamot (which had Harry scowling), and two from Hogwarts. Harry thought there was one from the Daily Prophet but several of the envelops disappeared up Voldemort's sleeve making the smaller wizard suspect that they might have something to do with the Death Eaters. His curiosity piqued the young Master of Death debated whether to insist on seeing them and consequentially become more a part of actually running the Death Eaters, stealing them to read, or suppressing his curiosity enough to ignore them. Finally deciding he hadn't been in enough personal mischief lately he decided to filch them later and turned back to his own serving of food and mail.

"Leave them alone," Severus said pointedly, not even bothering to look up from his mail and see the innocent expression Harry had instantly adopted. "If he wants you to see them or they are pertinent then he'll tell us about them. It could just as easily be someone begging not to be killed as someone like Bellatrix trying to seduce her way into his bed... again."

"They won't manage it," Voldemort said with a rumbling chuckle of amusement as he watched Harry go through a gamut of expressions including disgust at their tactics, jealousy and determination. It seemed that their little imp was almost as possessive as they themselves were. "Incidentally they aren't particularly important but I was planning on going over one or two of them with you both later. They just aren't likely to be fit for perusal during a meal."

"Then maybe we should hold off until we're done eating? That way we can open our mail together," Harry suggested with a sweet false innocence that had both of his lunch companions sniggering.

"You should know by now that the innocent expression doesn't work on us," Severus drawled, only for Harry to give a small huff of irritation before turning back to his food and mail. 

Following Harry's suggestion no one had actually opened their mail at the table, finishing up they all moved to the sitting room and used the small coffee table as a desk. Harry only got his hand smacked twice by the other two when he couldn't keep his fingers to his own mail, amusing the other two with his stubborn curiosity as they mentally filed the fact away to watch for later. After all being forewarned meant that they actually had a chance to hide any presents they got him or keep him out of something they weren't ready to share yet, even if it meant needing to use the Fidelius charm to do it.

Harry hummed happily as he went through his mail, occasionally playfully trying to grab the official Ministry and Gringotts letters that both of his partners had received before returning to his own pile. Opening one from Tonks he was surprised to find that she was not only worried about him but interested in possibly switching sides or at least swearing allegiance to Harry. He snorted in laughter at some of the strange wording that Mad Eye had made her use to inquire if he could talk about switching sides as well. Amazingly it seemed there were some actual advantages to being considered the top in your field but absolutely crazy and unendingly paranoid.

The next letter was far more interesting in scope as well as content since apparently he didn't need to confirm what had happened after the third task. Apparently Luna had been entirely serious about becoming his minion and being their designated seer. As such she had remained at the school and started trying to recruit people on their behalf. From the list that she had added to her letter Harry concluded that she had been surprisingly successful in her self imposed mission. It really did make him wonder what the hell Dumbledore was thinking when it came to isolating him so much the last time around. Voldemort's snort of amused disgust drew both their attentions and Harry's gaze latched on to the fact that the letter in his hand was from the Ministry of Magic, making him doubly curious as to its contents.

"Listen to this, we are summoned before the Wizengamot to explain ourselves. If we are found to be truthful as to the threat implied in our warning we are being directed to work with Dumbledore on solving the problem," Voldemort paraphrased as he threw down the letter in deep disgust. "Oh and lets not forget that Dumbledore will be heading the team as well as taking custody of Harry."

"Not a chance in hell," Harry shot back with his own snort of disgust as he grabbed the next letter without looking at it only to be sprayed in the face with some sort of liquid as he absently broke the seal. Both older wizards looked towards him in concern as they heard the liquid splash across his face as Harry took on a dewy eyed expression catching sigh of Severus first thing after clearing his eyes.

"Love potion!" Severus spat the words like a curse as he recognized the signs and Harry darted across the short distance to climb into his lap, quickly claiming the older man's lips in a deep soul consuming kiss.

Voldemort sighed unhappily, a little in envy and a little in hurt at not being included, as he looked at them before moving to examine the offending letter which just happened to contain an appalling amount of ghastly perfume accompanying the pink and red hearts. He frowned in concentration when he saw the picture, then shrugged when he couldn't bring her to mind. However his anger spiked strongly enough for Harry to hiss in pain when he saw the signature of one Ginny Weasley and the note that _Dumbledore_ had promised Harry to her.

"What is it?" Severus asked panting for breath as he tried to sooth Harry's scar induced pain that broke the kiss and allowed him to finally breath, instinctively cuddling the smaller wizard close to his chest.

"The youngest Weasley," Voldemort said unhappily as he handed over the letter for Severus to examine.

"I'm just glad that it wasn't something more dangerous, not that a love potion isn't dangerous enough as it is. Judging by the scent, his quick reaction once he saw me, and taking into account what we had already discussed it was probably Amortentia," Severus said unhappily as he handed the incriminating letter back to the Dark Lord. "Once I've brewed the antidote I wouldn't be surprised if he becomes even more withdrawn in regards to intimacy."

"Take me to bed and fuck me," Harry demanded as he rubbed himself all up and down the long suffering potions master who was trying very very hard not to take advantage of the situation and do just that.

"Why didn't he check his mail before opening it?" Voldemort demanded a snarl edging the corners of his mouth.

"I don't think he was ever taught how to and please don't snarl at me. I'm just as unhappy with the situation as you are, physical reactions aside," Severus told him sharply.

"I'm.. not accustomed to being unable to do something about a situation," Voldemort admitted with a frustrated growl. "We keep unraveling more and more threads that lead to Dumbledore and his interference in all three of our lives, his interference in Harry's life is the worst though. Did you notice how Harry ignored the health monitoring ward we had keyed to him when he looked over the list of wards on this place?"

"Actually he looked at it and then snuck away later that same day and changed the ward to track all three of us," Severus told him, mirth dancing in his eyes as Harry slumped over panting from a combination of weakness and exertion in his lap. "Apparently he thought because we decided to track his health he was perfectly within his rights to track ours as well."

"I see that he's worn himself out fighting the potion," Voldemort said sadly as he nodded towards their half asleep partner.

"Yes, he's still recovering from that blasted vase," Severus agreed in equal sadness. "I have no idea how long the lack of energy and general weakness will last. The duel and joined dreams last night didn't exactly help either with how much magic they each consumed."

"We're not even seeing all of it. He's pushing himself to hide at least some of the weakness," Voldemort agreed getting up only to walk over and softly brush Harry's hair out of his face. "How do you think Dumbledore will explain his erratic behavior of late? Especially how possessive he's been attempting to be with Harry?"

"He'll cite the magical guardian card, the supposed greater good, and then point out how many people have either tried to kill Harry or obviously want him dead thus making his safety an obvious priority. Never mind that the three of us working together effectively neutralize more than half of the normal suspects or at least relegate the investigation and punishment to your authority as their sworn lord," Severus said in disgust as he shifted Harry to a more comfortable position in his lap. "He'll probably use that bloody grandfather act to try and get on everyone's good side all while intimating that Harry is going dark and must be under his august guidance to remain pure and on the right path. If that doesn't work I wouldn't put it past him to resort to compulsion spells and potions or outright threats."

"We can only counter some of that, and Harry will have to counter much of the rest of it. For the potions and spells we can probably force them into a magical vow about that and purchase a protective ring or amulet from the goblins. The guardianship card is countered by the goblins and their certification of his adult status. The greater good and guidance cards... we may have to either reveal some of his titles or pretend to essentially kneel at his feet," Voldemort said with a thoughtful frown.

"Its not exactly a secret that he was the magical monarch in the other timeline. If we need to we can just attribute it to his having been king and the likelyhood of him needing to once more take up the crown. Its becoming more and more likely that it will be a necessity rather than a simple distasteful option," Severus pointed out as he absently petted the teen-shaped Master of Death in his lap like a puppy. "When are we supposed to appear before the Wizengamot?"

"Within the next few days. We might even have enough time to get Harry to actually rest a bit before attending and the reactions to last night's interview are going to be interesting to say the least," Voldemort smirked as he happily thought of the out cry against Dumbledore it was likely to cause. "Who was the stalker you had to kill?"

"I'd rather not say. She and her helper may not become the problem that they were in the other timeline," Severus pointed out his voice dropping in volume as Harry started to move restlessly in his sleep. Neither of them were happy to hear the low whimpers and whines coming from the smaller wizard indicating a probable nightmare.

"If Dumbledore hurts him again I will kill the old fool, in front of everyone if necessary," Voldemort said vehemently as Harry calmed under their joint touch, instinctively arching into their gently soothing hands.

"They will call for your head," Severus pointed out.

"If they do I will publicly kneel before our imp and offer him my wand as I ask for judgement as the Master of Death," Voldemort admitted softly. "It should silence nearly everyone as to his right to deliver the punishment and Death can provide any missing information and evidence."

"He will hate having to do that," Severus said equally softly with a touch of sadness.

"You will need to remind him that the two of us are technically immortal and he can draw out the punishment as long as he likes increasing the duration to compensate for how light the actual punishment might be. We can also cite the magical deal since Dumbledore is obviously trying to stop or impede us at every turn," Voldemort explained. "A great deal of it depends on the fall out and if I am caught."

"Or you could wait long enough for me to brew an undetectable poison and administered it," Severus drawled.

"Or you could both leave him alone until he does something stupid like attacking someone outright," Harry put in sleepily, proving he hadn't been as deeply asleep as they had thought. "We'll deal with Dumbledore and Fudge eventually. Why was I crawling all over Severus and demanding sex?"

"Love potion," Severus told him promptly, chalking his recovery up to his normally impossible feats list and that Harry had broken reality again. "Do you happen to know how you recovered from a dose of Amortentia with a nap and a snogging session?"

"Nope, no idea," Harry said quickly, deciding not to look at the situation to closely least they pick up on the fact that he'd already fallen for both of them with the end result of the Amortentia acting like alcohol combined with a lust potion. They both looked at him doubtfully before turning their discussion to other topics.


	19. Facing the Wizengamot or Queen? King!

Harry practically slept through the next two days with the help of potions, greatly reassuring both Severus and Voldemort as they arranged for their very public trip to stand before the Wizengamot. Death, figuring they might like to talk to him about the up coming session/trial and very much approving of the rest Harry was getting wandered in and out as he performed his duties. They also took the chance to send someone to "invite" the Dursleys to visit, doing nothing to them for the moment except transfiguring them into three turtles and kept in a portable terrarium. Knowing how Harry might feel about what they had done the turtles were very well taken care of and they planned to present the Dursleys both as evidence and for judgement at the Wizengamot session. The worrying actions of Dumbledore and Ginny Weasley were examined again as they plotted what would happen at the Ministry. Both of them were alternately bothered and delighted by the fact that Dumbledore, an intelligent and powerful wizard, seemed to be scrambling to maintain control of the overall situation. They would have to tread carefully to counter Dumbledore's latest move in this dangerous apocalyptic chess match across the magical world.

"The Daily Prophet seems to have decided to withhold judgement on the entire issue but there is a mention of Skeeter being at the session. How she will manage that when its a closed session I'd dearly like to know," Severus muttered as they ate breakfast on the day of the Wizengamot session.

"She's an unregistered beetle animagus," Harry pointed out, not even bothering to look up from his breakfast.

"Well, at least we can ensure she gets the best seat in the house," Voldemort said with a smirk, handing off a note addressed to Rita to a house elf with instructions for the woman to make sure she didn't get caught.

"I just hope I don't fall asleep during all of this," Harry said with a minor amount of self disgust.

"Harry, the amount of magic you used that day should have killed you. I don't know about you but I'm insanely grateful that you're only constantly exhausted and show signs of getting better rather than a pile of dust," Severus shot back in a disapproving tone. Chastised Harry blushed in embarrassment and bit back another yawn before drinking the remainder of his second cup of tea.

"Do you want to help him dress or get the turtles?" Voldemort asked, completely ignoring Harry's indignant spluttering at needing to be dress like a small child.

"You have the better fashion sense and I need to collect certain potions for the upcoming session in any case," Severus answered calmly.

"Treat me like an infant and you are _both_ sleeping on the couch. I'll seal every single bedroom if I have to," Harry growled at them before stalking off to get dressed, completely forgetting to ask about the turtles.

Severus and Voldemort shared a smirk when Harry stalked from the room, fully confident that even if he did follow through they would still be able to join him in bed that evening. True to their word not only were they both ready by the time Harry was Voldemort had the turtlefied Dursleys in his pocket and Severus had his complement of potions. It didn't take them long to walk out the door and apparate to the ministry. Harry once more had fun with the charm that produced ID badges for visitors calling himself _King of the World_ , Severus got _Dungeon Bat_ , and Voldemort got _Darkest Lord of all Time_. His fiances were loath to wipe away Harry's happy smile so soon so allowed the badge assignments with only minor grumbling.

"So, where do we go?" Harry asked looking around the atrium in a mixture of nostalgia and sadness.

"You don't know?" Voldemort asked curiously. He had presumed that Harry had been to at least one Wizengamot session.

"Due in part to the Ministry's location it was one of the first places lost as was Diagon Alley. Harry essentially ran our world from Malfoy Manor, partly because Lucius is a security nut and partly because Narcissa managed to corner him with some help," Severus explained as he led the way over to the security desk for them to check in.

"Those women are terrifying," Harry said with a shudder, refusing to look at either of them as Severus continued to lead the way down various corridors.

"Oh? Which ones?" Voldemort asked in an amused drawl.

"Minerva McGonagall, Poppy Pomphrey, Narcissa, Molly Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Pomona Sprout. He didn't have a chance," Severus explained, doing his best not to burst into laughter despite how cute Harry's pout was. "The six of them managed to corner him after he accepted and obeyed Magic's proclamation. I got a front row seat when a bunch of the students practically dragged me to throw me at his feet. He wasn't exactly pleased about that, nor was he happy that they had actually taken the potions I needed from me."

"Just because you had been a mean nasty git doesn't mean they should have tried to kill you and then demanded that _I_ kill you for being evil. You protected as many of the students as you could manage, me most of all," Harry argued back, completely unaware that they had arrived in time for the entire Wizengamot had heard nearly everything via a special charm.

"I'm sure this will be brought up later in the session, for now we need to figure out where we're sitting," Voldemort drawled, not really wanting to end the discussion but recognizing the necessity of it. He wanted more blackmail material that wouldn't actually hurt Harry or Severus to use against them.

"Are we late?" Harry asked, noticing everyone else was already there and in their seats, leaving no where for the trio to sit.

"I doubt it. Someone probably thought it was a good idea to try and intimidate us into obedience or telling them what they want to hear over what they need to hear. The end result is that we arrive on time and whoever arranged it thinks they've made us look like fools," Severus said, sending a pointed glare towards the nervously shifting people in plum colored robes.

"The problem with that is that I am the Dark Lord and am well versed enough in our laws that I could demand satisfaction and simply kill the idiot who tried it," Voldemort said lightly, enjoying how much the idiots were squirming. "If they weren't willing to come forward I would be within my rights to either kill the entire Wizengamot and their families or require certain policy changes or even pass or strike down any law I choose. They wouldn't be allowed to say no, especially since while we were answering a summons, very politely I might add, it wasn't for a criminal offense against us."

"Now, I know you're just trying to mess with me," Harry said with a snort only to casually conjure them all chairs a moment later.

"Who taught you to conjure chairs like that?" Severus demanded as he shot firming charms at all three giant cushy chairs in dark red, dark green, and black.

"Just thought I'd head off Dumbledore's attempt," Harry said cheekily as he slipped into his nice comfy red chair, completely ignoring Dumbledore's glare that quickly morphed into a look of false grandfatherly pride. He squeaked when Voldemort casually rearranged them so that Harry was 

sitting in between them rather than on the closest end towards the door.

"Hem, hem, hem," Umbridge cleared her throat, fighting to keep her sickly sweet smile on her face. "Such blatant disrespect! We have so graciously agreed to hear you out and you don't even have the courtesy to..."

"Shut up you bloody bitch," Harry said harshly, eyes hard as stone.

"You dare!" Umbridge spluttered indignantly.

"I put up with enough of your torture attempts the last time around. I'm not doing it again," Harry shot back. "I will say this now and not bring it up again unless I have to, if you _ever_ try to use a blood quill or a crucio on a child I will quite happily _rip. You. **Apart!**_ "

"You never told me about this," Severus said gravely, more than a little concerned with Harry's reaction to the woman.

"She was making us do lines and none of us knew it was illegal to use a blood quill like that," Harry said with a shrug, unknowingly reminding his fiances of his complaint against her in the graveyard less than two months ago. "Oh, most of us realized that making a child right hundreds of lines in their own blood was twisted but what were we supposed to do about it? Even the little firsties had scars from it."

" _ **She what!?**_ " Both of his fiances' demanded furiously, standing quickly they pulled their wands on a very pale pink toad only for Harry to disarm them.

"She hasn't done it yet, jeez," Harry scolded with an eye roll, casually returning their wands now that he had their attention. "I only pointed it out to head it off. Talking about the upcoming war with the muggles is going to cause enough problems and give me more than enough nightmares."

"Arrest them! You all saw it, they attacked me!" Umbridge screeched, spurring the standard Auror guards into hesitant movement.

"Honestly," Harry said in exasperation, glaring at the Aurors until they backed down while holding a growling Voldemort's wand arm in a light grip so that he wouldn't curse them.

"Now Delores, I'm certain that they didn't mean anything by it," Dumbledore said congenially, his grandfather mask shining so hard that it made Harry want to puke.

"Why are you here old man? You were one of the reasons so many of us died in the other timeline," Severus demanded with a ferocious scowl.

"Severus, my dear boy, I was hoping to keep anyone from making... hasty decisions that would lead to unfortunate mistakes," Dumbledore told them sadly, looking pointedly between Severus and Voldemort.

"And what mistakes would that be?" Harry drawled only to cut Dumbledore off before he could do more than open his mouth. "Both Severus and Voldemort are fully aware of what went wrong since I had to have their cooperation to try and fix this insane mess. They also have sworn to try and fix it. So, _Albus_ , you had better have more than innuendo and accusations. If not some of your own secrets will be examined in depth before I ask Lady Magic to simply strip you of yours so that we can get _on_ with it."

"You have no idea what can be done, do you?" Dumbledore asked gently, his eyes showing his icy fury and giving the lie to his mask.

"I don't want to rule again, but if it will keep our people _alive_ I'll accept the crown in a heartbeat," Harry said coldly. "Why not? I've already done it once and this time I'll have Voldemort's general brilliance to help, not to mention Severus' complete trust."

"I can't remember if Harry told you all but we three, have been guaranteed not only survival but the our magic as well. Reject what we are trying to do and we'll just wander off, perfectly safe from what's coming," Voldemort told informed them with a malicious laugh, not at all bothered by lying about what they would do if rejected. "I'll just take my fiances and we'll go, let you all die and loose your magic. We've got enough knowledge and favor between the three of us to start a whole new magical race and leave the rest of you to rot."

"Now, there's an idea," Death said, materializing in his typical cowl and robe ensemble, with glimpses of bone limbs to match the bony fingers, and nice sharp scythe in his hands. Harry, Severus, and Voldemort turned to stare at the specter who had simply faded into existence just behind their small row of chairs.

"What did we do wrong?" Harry asked in exasperation, thumping his head on the back of his chair.

"The crown is non-negotiable, try to get out of it again and we'll tear down the protections ourselves. Oh, and congratulations on your engagement," Death said sternly before disappearing with barely a whisper of sound.

"Fuck," Harry swore, turning about to sink into his chair in a deep sulk.

"That answers a few of our questions," Severus said wryly, returning to his own chair, absently shifting the color to a forest green from the pitch black Harry had made it.

"He didn't argue my earlier statements, so we can safely presume that my translation of earlier discussions was correct," Voldemort said thoughtfully, partly to make the assembled wizards wonder if he had been bluffing and partly as a reminder to his fiances.

"It makes one wonder if we should even bother with these old stuffy Lords," Severus said slowly, mischief dancing in his eyes the only thing giving away his true feelings on the matter.

"Well when we restructured as much as we could after the muggles started killing us most of them were dead," Harry drawled, running through his memories of that painful start to the war. "Almost none of them had the skills necessary to hide or fight and my DA, which doesn't exist yet, was able to be a relatively effective rescue group."

"And what would it take for you to once more form this... DA?" the muggle Queen asked delicately as she broke the disillusionment spell that had been cast around her and the pair of magical guards.

"I thought muggles couldn't get into the ministry," Harry said blankly looking at Voldemort. Voldemort shrugged his own lack of knowledge as the three of them stood from their conjured chairs and bowed to the woman they had saved from the vase with a nasty curse.

"Who are you?!" Fudge demanded, his patience tested beyond endurance after having to listen to the discussion between people who he thought should be _begging_ for his attention and leniency. "Never mind it does not matter. Aurors! Arrest them, arrest all of them, this farce is at an end!"

"What was the phrase that triggers my confirmation again? Ah yes, _I am Queen of this land, by magic, blood, and birthright you will bow to your rightful monarch!_ " The Queen ordered imperiously only for the magic embedded within the very stones to enforce it. Everyone but Harry and his fiances, who were still bowing in respect, was forced out of their various positions and seats only to find themselves kneeling, head bowed, to her.

"Eh, looks like a little respect goes a long way," Harry said with a shrug, discovering that the three of them were able to stand straight while everyone else was stuck in their kneeling positions.

"I suspect it has more to do with that... person's pointing out that you will have to take the magical crown than the fact that the three of you were the only ones to even try showing me any respect," the Queen drawled, amusement clear in the tone of her voice. "If any of these pompous windbags are set to be your ministers and department heads I advise you to pick someone else."

"We will certainly consider that your majesty, however the current laws heavily favor many of these Lords and Ladies," Severus said smoothly as he conjured her a chair of her own, bearing the Windsor royal crest embroidered on the backrest.

"As much as the three of you took them by storm I have actually been here since one of the first of them showed up. Needless to say I was not impressed by their bickering and general power-mongering. They didn't even do a proper security sweep!" she told them indignantly, leaving everyone else to their magically enforced kneeling position while waving the trio to join her in sitting.

"Are you going to leave them stuck like that?" Harry asked in curious amusement.

"I don't see why I should let them up, their behavior has been utterly appalling," she said with a sniff towards the fuming pompous lords that knelt all around them. "As to the laws, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't change them. Wading through the utter mess they most likely have at the moment would be a nightmare, especially since I suspect most of them are badly outdated just by how these people all acted. Of course you can suspend most of the laws aside from a key few and work from there or make a proclamation that specifically eliminates one set of laws until all of the ones for that set have been gone over and fixed."

"That presumes I'm accepted as the new monarch and someone doesn't try to kill us in the mean time or we don't wind up going to war with the non-magicals," Harry pointed out shrewdly. "I'm not even sure its possible to separate from your government at this point even with the Wizarding World operating pretty much on its own in secret since the witch burnings in the 1600s."

"The fact that you managed to come to me actually works heavily in your favor but if we are going to try for reintegration not just revelation there will be problems and many lives lost. No, the best thing at this point is to appoint someone in charge of your Wizarding World and make the title hereditary, especially with some of the ridiculous inheritance laws my various magical protectors have told me of over the years. Gringotts was kind enough to allow me access to the memories you submitted so I got to see part of how well you handled the mess that the previous timeline turned into," she told them briskly.

"How would you solve it?" Voldemort asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"That is not something easily answered," she said with a deep frown. "I am honestly uncertain that I _could_ handle it. Maintaining the secrecy is going to become impossible judging by how fast the technology is developing and otherwise becoming public. Strictly speaking you don't have your own lands, even if I turned over some of the crown's reserved lands for use it would be pushing things. If I had a better idea where most of your population centers were it might be easier but it also might just as easily cause more problems. This building for example, is far to close to 10 Downing street and will cause a panic when its revealed, many will flock to your medical centers and shops in hopes of aid for one thing or another."

"Which was part of the problem in the other timeline, magic can only do so much. We lost most of the people living in London and the surrounding areas on top of the attacks at our major shopping center and major school," Harry agreed grimly. "I don't know whether it was you or someone claiming to speak for you who ordered the slaughter of our children on the day the train took them to the school but it happened. Things happened fast after that. It was almost as if someone had stationed troops near as many magicals as possible with a very exact plan for genocide."

"D'vou," the Queen whispered in shock. "That sounds exactly like something he would do. He passed all of the background checks and such but they only go back so far. He's also felt off to me but I could never pin down why."

"Then it is likely we were fighting on more than one front in the other timeline," Severus pointed out with a frown. "Making it even more difficult in this one to find the idiots and keep them from initiating, much less encouraging the slaughter. There must be people from the magical side who encouraged it or at least paved the way."

"I suspect that my previous insanity did that nicely," Voldemort pointed out ruefully.

"I just realized, we kidnapped the entire Wizengamot anyway," Harry said with a snort before breaking into laughter that had him doubled over in his seat.

"No, we didn't. The muggle Queen invoked her rights and hasn't bothered lifting the kneeling restriction which signals that she is actually addressing them," Severus said primly before breaking into his own set of chuckles in part from the horror he could see on the faces of the trapped lords.

"There's a by-law that says I have to discuss the passing of authority for the magical world in front of the hereditary lords. It said nothing about allowing them to speak and making them kneel like this nicely keeps one of them from trying to magically control me," the Queen said primly. Her answer shut Harry up fast but had both of his fiances breaking out in full fledged laughter.

"Sometimes I really hate how my luck runs," Harry said in a pained tone of voice before lightly whacking his fiances to get them to stop laughing.

"Now, from what I heard them discuss you are all on the verge of loosing your magic but they would rather fight you tooth and nail to maintain their power rather than protect their people," the Queen summarized with a disapproving glare sent towards the trapped Wizengamot members. "I highly doubt that the three of you would have gone quietly to this... Azkaban."

"First they want me to save them from the big bad dark lord as an underage wizard, without training, without help, and without information while said dark lord is trying to _kill_ me. Now, when I'm trying to save their ungrateful hides they want to feed us to the _Dementors_ ," Harry ranted in complete disgust.

"I could always have them up before the non-magical lords on charges of treason," the Queen said thoughtfully. "It could ease the necessary transition but the general autonomy would drastically diminish, at least at first. Unless we firmly establish that you have your own government and someone to lead you, as well as appropriate law enforcement and instructions to hand out on how to identify misuse of magic. Certain spell types would have to become illegal except under certain professions such as doctors and such."

"That was part of the problem the last time around," Harry muttered darkly. "We've already restricted our magic so much to accommodate those born and raised in the muggle world that Lady Magic is being hurt and fed up with the ripping apart of her gift to humans and other creatures. Our entire society and legal system needs a complete overhaul, even if its only used to remove the more harmful laws."

"No matter what we decide this will not end well," the Queen concluded glumly.

"We can try to keep the deaths to a minimum but people are people and many are terrified of change," Severus said gently. "Was that not the reason for the witch burnings? Was that not the reason all three of us had to suffer at the hands of our non-magical caretakers? We need greater separation and an acknowledgement of our existence that will kill as few as possible. Many won't be willing to leave the homes they have and relocate."

"I suppose we could establish dual citizenship," Voldemort said thoughtfully. "If we come out of hiding that would affect the other magical communities and we would have to walk very carefully."

"Too bad we can't build our own island or move to the moon or something," Harry said with a scowl. Voldemort and Severus stared at him in horrified shock.

"For many of us this is ancestral land and in any case creating a magical land simply isn't feasible," Severus explained. "The magic is rooted in the land and we have been protecting magical locations of varying power for centuries. The magic draws us to live there and instills a sense of protectiveness that is hard to deny. Its one of the reasons loosing the family seat is such a disgrace to a pureblood line. Many of the family magics and the laws regarding pureblood families viciously protect the right to that land, going even so far as to bind it to the blood of the family line. Which is also why most of the older adoption potions and spells actually alter the very blood of the adopted, so that the magic will recognize them correctly as part of the family."

"In some cases, when a line has died out, the goblins will use a special family sample to adopt someone into the fallen family and return not only their gold to circulation but also their land and magic. This revives the family, returns lost magic and land, and gives the adoptee status. Dumbledore has actually managed to outlaw this and ended the program that allowed people to petition for consideration. Often times a muggleborn was one of the adoptees and would be considered a _new_ pureblood after the adoption," Voldemort told them, explaining the more political muggleborn-related aspects that arose from the practice.

"Bringing in new blood and new ideas to prevent stagnation and self destructive tendencies forming in the nobility, adding stability to the entire system without causing disgrace or too much upset," the Queen concluded approvingly. All four of them ignored the strangled noises of outrage coming from the fuming Wizengamot.

"There's the matter of magical children being raised among non-magicals but also the fact that sometimes the magical gene simply isn't dominant or something happened so that a child didn't develop it creating a squib," Harry pointed out. "I know first hand that many magicals are mistreated by muggle caretakers. I also have no clue what causes squibs but suspect its inbreeding."

" _That_ may be a bit more difficult to handle," she agreed with pursed lips.

"Can we at least agree on as complete a separation as possible?" Voldemort suggested quickly. He had already sorted out some of the details to fix what was being discussed before he went insane. He just had to find them and show them to his fiances.

"What about the muggleborns?" Harry asked. "And really anyone raised in the muggle world?"

"Addressing the parents younger at the first sign of magic, monitoring for the child's safety, and removal if necessary. We can set up our own orphanages and have a six month trial period before allowing the blood adoption," Voldemort said promptly. "Frankly, a lot of issues in our world are solvable via education and Dumbledore has been gutting the educational system to _his_ specifications for decades. He's managed to get dozens of _healing_ spells outlawed simply because he believes that the magic used is evil. Every scrap of magic is intent based!"

"Man's got _way_ too much power and authority," Harry grumbled in agreement. "Even the first spell we learn can be used to kill, but does he outlaw that? Noooo, he harasses anyone who doesn't fit _his_ plans. Is it any wonder that he and Grindlewald along with Hitler did so much damage?"

"No, not when you put it that way," the Queen admitted. "Which is one of the reasons why I am willing to simply elevate you and hand over control of the magicals under my care. I'm not getting the information I need nor are they receiving the correct attention. They have different needs than the rest of my people but the way the government is currently set up I don't have the power needed to reintegrate them and this world has been running its self for to long to accept me. The family tales said that Merlin knew this day would come and that only three people would be able to help. He called them the Reluctant Chosen One, Master of Death, and his two shadows, the Lord of Darkness and the Shadowed Defender."

"That's me," Harry admitted unhappily. "I earned the magical title Master of Death and never wanted to be their Chosen One despite earning the title as a baby, both Voldemort and Severus could easily count as shadows and the other names fit. That guy earlier who said I had to take the crown? That was Death. He can be a bastard at times."

In that moment Dumbledore ripped free of the enchantment, rage burning in his eyes.

"I have fought for more than fifty years to keep this country in the light! I will not have you tearing apart my plans even further! This will end for the greater good!" Dumbledore snarled only to be smacked down again by the magics keyed to the defense of the Royal family.

"Has he always been this unstable?" the Queen asked politely, slightly shaken that she had nearly been attacked, _again_ , by Dumbledore.

"I've always thought so," Voldemort said with a shrug, watching the old man struggle against being held flat to the floor with more than a little joy.

"He wasn't this bad before," Harry said with a frown. "I mean he was still a manipulative bastard but he could get away with nearly anything and everyone just said he was Albus Dumbledore and could do no wrong. Lucius at least had to work at staying out of trouble whenever he got caught doing something stupid."

"My instructions were not stupid," Voldemort said snootily. Harry just stared at him incredulously.

"You should have been stunned by one of your friends once they realized how out of control you were being and dragged to a healer! You're idiocy that sent you insane and caused two wars is one of the reasons _for_ the six month regular check ups I instituted after making all magics legal," Harry shot back, seguing into a fine rant on the banned magics. "It was the banned healing magics and the fact that we were at _war_ that got me to reinstate the other magics. My methods worked well enough that I don't see why they shouldn't be instituted again. Love potions and other magics that strip away the will or choice of the victim will need a license or special permision to use because of the general violation of the victim, same with memory modification. The unforgivables will remain that way because of how they're triggered and the damage they do to the _caster_. Necromancy will also require a license and heavy regulation because of its basic nature and only donated corpses are to be used out of respect for the deceased."

"How did you come up with these changes?" the Queen asked, doing her best to hide how disturbed she was at the need for some of the reasoning.

"I gave general free reign the last time because we were at war," Harry said uncomfortably. "These are some of the things that I thought up _after_ seeing how some of the magics were used on both sides. The only things I had actually kept banned were human sacrifice and Necromancy. I hate Necromancy but there are good reasons to use it in certain situations. If I understood more about it I could make a better decision on it."

"What good reasons?" Severus asked mildly as if they were all sat down to luncheon and discussing who was snogging who in their peer group.

"Evidence in the case of murder, similar to how the ghosts can testify as impartial witnesses in certain instances. When someone volunteers to be summoned back for research purposes or to help exploring somewhere. When someone falls to a curse or such during curse breaking or to help prevent a series of accidents from happening to someone else. That sort of thing, it would mainly be in a information gathering capacity, creatures like Inferi would still be illegal partly to avoid someone building an army of them or loosing control and wiping out entire towns," Harry explained uncomfortably. "I really don't like the idea of Necromancy or human sacrifice, even willing human sacrifice, it just feels _off_ to me and makes my chest _ache_."

"Harry, as you know I dabbled in those arts while I was still insane and I have to agree with your original assessment, Necromancy and human sacrifice need to remain banned," Voldemort said gently. "Your arguments are wonderful for the actions you proposed but some things still need to be banned, not just for the potential misuse but because they are inherently corrupt. Had the deal not healed me I still wouldn't know the difference, though I bet Severus would."

"Oh good," Harry said in obvious relief. "I just described the outline. I know it needs work and that some things simply can't be used safely."

"Something I've always wondered is how he keeps everyone from realizing exactly what he's doing," Severus said thoughtfully as he gazed at the trapped meddling old coot. "Slytherins generally pick up on it at some point but not always, its one of the main reasons that we sought out the Dark Lord."

"I also went out of my way to hide my insanity," Voldemort pointed out. "It wasn't exactly obvious that I was insane until you were inducted into the inner circle since I didn't feel the need to be as guarded and beguiling. Dumbledore might have been employing the same methods, in fact I think I learned those methods from watching him."

"We've gotten off topic," the Queen pointed out regretfully. "Can we send for one of those blood adoption potions? I think we are going to need it to make this work properly."

"What? Why?" Harry asked, startled and clueless as his fiances got a funny look in their eyes. The Queen met their gazes without flinching and nodded confirmation to their suspicions. A quiet word and a command from Severus had a house elf summoned and sent off to Gringotts for a blood adoption potion and a goblin to witness the adoption.

"What are you all doing?" Harry asked warily, playing dumb for all he was worth.

"You can't fool us, you've already figured out what is happening," Severus said with a derisive snort. Harry made a face but also nodded his reluctant agreement to both the assessment and the obvious plan. It wasn't long before goblin and potion arrived via house elf with the elf disappearing almost the moment that it had let go of the goblin.

"As requested a witness and an adoption potion," the goblin said with a fierce grin.

"I am establishing a magical branch of the House of Windsor," the Queen told him formally.

"Excellent! The King has been complaining about the loss of the more common magic to the human royal house for the last several centuries," the goblin declared gleefully. "Its about time you were willing to break the curse cast during the time of the burnings."

"Curse? I wasn't aware my family was under a curse," the Queen said with a frown.

"Most humans don't track their family lineage and grievances as well as goblins and other such folk," the goblin reminded them, waving away the lack of knowledge with a dismissive gesture.

"Will the one adopted gain the curse as well?" Severus asked warily.

"No, the adoption its self is the ending of the curse as it ties the local royal family inextricably to the magic of the wizarding people and will return the sense of the land to the family. The magic of the land will once more be able to speak and work with its stewards. The ruler is the symbol of not only the people but the land as well," the goblin explained. "The magic of that bond is always stronger when the land has a better relationship with the ruler. Under such a connection both land and people thrive. The downside comes when the land rejects someone as ruler. At the moment the only complication will be that your majesty must choose your heir carefully and acknowledge that whoever you adopt and grant the right to rule those of us with magic _is_ a full member of your family. To deny the fact in public or private is to deny the magic of the land and its protectors. All appropriate paperwork will be filled out and filed after the adoption."

"I understand," the Queen said firmly.

"Then I need a few drops of your majesty's blood," the goblin told them amiably. The Queen nodded and accepted the small knife to provide the blood with before allowing three drops to fall into the potion, a soft healing charm from Severus had the cut disappearing in moments. "Her majesty may use her reign name as part of the adoption since this is also to be a designation of the magical ruling heir."

"I, Queen Elizabeth the Second, ruling head of the House of Windsor do hereby adopt Harry James Potter into my family and house as my youngest son and heir to the throne of the magical world under my command," the Queen declared confidently.

"I, Harry James Potter, do hereby accept the adoption into the House of Windsor and from this day forth am the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth the second as well as the heir of the throne to the magical world within the British Empire," Harry declared before downing the potion only to gag on its taste.

A burning set up in Harry's gut as the potion raced through his body before slamming into something inside him. The scream he let out shook everyone to their core as Voldemort and Severus frantically cradled his writhing body in an attempt to sooth him. The magic of the royal family, finally unbound its self deep within Harry's core and awakening an even older royal bloodline that predated the House of Windsor. Harry's skin briefly flashed a brilliant gold before returning to normal allowing him to slump panting in the grip of his fiances.

"Adoption into the House of Windsor, check. Destruction of the curse on the House of Windsor, check. Awakening of the Golden Line, check. Confirmation of marital status for the Heir of the Golden line, engaged to two wizards of decent quality and power, check," the goblin muttered shakily as he ran through and updated his check list for the adoption. "Congratulations your majesty, you have a son. Incidentally you also managed to fulfill the outstanding marriage contract with a house previously thought lost. The House of Windsor no longer has any outstanding contracts to interfere with future contracts and agreements with the goblin nation. The adoption paperwork will be on your desk or in your vaults by the end of the day. Good day."

The goblin quickly scurried from the room to report what had happened and file the appropriate paperwork.

"That _hurt!_ Was it supposed to hurt? Or at least to hurt that _much_?" Harry asked tiredly.

"It should have hurt more," Death said with an evil chuckle as he once more appeared out of thin air. "Be glad that we cleaned up some of your ancestors' blood when we sent you back or you'd have been screaming for another hour as the power and magic fixed the damage."

Harry just gave the powerful entity a kicked puppy look before cuddling exhaustedly into the arms of his fiances. Death just laughed and disappeared back to his work. Since the gathered people knew who he was the specter hadn't bothered to damp down his power levels during his brief visit.

"I think we are done for the day," the Queen said shakily, preparing to release the magic holding the now very pale Wizengamot.

No one said anything when the magic failed to release Dumbledore but they all saw when a pair of Aurors hustled him from the room towards the DMLE (Department of Magical Law Enforcement). When Harry glanced at the time he was more than a little surprised that the events hadn't taken them past supper time. By the time they got back to the house Gringotts had loaned them both Voldemort and Severus were silently cursing that they had forgotten about presenting the Dursleys.


	20. The World's Still Turning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short one. The trial is next and its decided it doesn't like me at the moment. I still have to sort out some of the official proceedings. Ideas are welcome.  
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The paper the next morning practically blared Harry's new status, much to his chagrin. The only saving grace was the fact that Skeeter had been singing his praises. She very gleefully pointed out that it was better that he had been made the royal magical heir over both Dumbledore and Voldemort. Somehow she had gotten her hands on reports of some of the things he had done during his first four years and very happily told everyone. Thankfully she still didn't know that he had surpassed those accomplishments in the other timeline. Those memories still gave him nightmares, nightmares that were only eased by his fiances.

Harry deeply suspected that both that article and the section on his unusual time travel circumstances, reiterating that they had come back to save everyone, was the doing of his two Slytherins. The references to the trial they were very probably going to be having that day were surprisingly less inflammatory than he had thought. Unfortunately, his two sneaky serpents were entirely immune to his glares of intimidation that morning and wouldn't say anything on the subject of what was in the paper, insisting that they couldn't skip out on the Wizengamot meeting that day. He gave in with a suspicious grumble and could practically feel Death laughing his ass off at the entire situation.

They returned to the Ministry and the room the Wizengamot was using directly after breakfast. Harry was more than a little surprised to find almost no one was glaring hatefully at them. Though there was more than a little fear, which he put it down to Voldemort being there publicly and everything. There was even a representative of the Royal family and a few Royal servants waiting for him when they got there. The information that they were his attendants and were to school him in what he needed to know as a part of the Royal family wasn't really that much of a shock. The fact that he had a bribery fund for covering up _indiscretions_ , was another matter completely.

"What do you mean I've got a bloody bribery fund?!" Harry shouted angrily. Only Voldemort and Severus quick actions to pin him between them and sooth him saved the man from being either cursed or clocked. The rest of the Wizengamot politely looked away from the confrontation while quietly filing that information away for a rainy day.

"The special fund is for when you inevitably make mistakes my prince," the suited middle aged man informed him, completely unruffled at Harry's outburst.

"I don't make or use bribes," Harry growled low, his anger barely dampened by his fiances' efforts at cuddling/restraining him as he spoke from between them. "I expect people to do their job in a reasonable and timely manner. When they don't I can always prank them. Of course now that I'm in charge of the ministry I could also fire them."

"Your pranks are a menace whenever you employ them," Severus said flatly. "You managed to use a single wet starting firework and three pieces of string to explode an entire army base in the last timeline. It was only your stubborn sense of Gryffindor fairness that kept you from targeting obvious civilians."

"No, it was my fear of becoming like the bastards who decided it was a good idea to rape a four year old and then torture her to death in the middle of the street for calling a cuddle toy across the room! Anyone harming a magical child for any reason had their life automatically declared forfeit!" Harry snarled out, half clutching at the comforting and grounding arms of his fiances. He kept his eyes lowered and the power under his skin leashed tightly as it practically burned with the need to destroy such evil. The two non-descript muggle men paled to bone white as the younger one got violently ill.

"Fair doesn't belong in war or on the battlefield," Voldemort agreed bitterly. "But that doesn't stop some of us from trying to adhere to a sense of honor, no matter how tattered."

"If that _fund_ is going to be used, let it be used for the children and families that suffered in the last war. Or for orphans and those with abusive families so that they can get out of those situations into a chance at a life. If a bribe is needed or used I'm obviously not doing my job right," Harry spat, his emerald eyes glowing with power. A color that scarily reminded the Wizengamot members of the Killing Curse.

"As you wish your majesty," the older muggle agreed softly before moving on to the next item on his list. "The Queen thought it would be a good idea for you to have files on your new family. She also asked me to inform you that unless a vital issue arises there is a family dinner you and your fiances need to be at in two weeks. There is also going to be an official interview about your adoption, which you must be at, in a few days. In the blue file there are several scenarios for you to choose your background story from, including one that reveals the magical world. You may also choose to reveal the true circumstances which brought this about. We do, however, need to know which one before the interview. Should you wish to reveal the existence of magic and the British magical community your adoption falls under the same laws and qualifiers as a peace treaty re-enforced by a royal marriage. The goblins went over the laws with a fine toothed comb and verified it as well as the fact that it is binding on _all_ British citizenry."

"Anything else?" Harry asked in resignation, moving from between his Slytherins to openly sulk in front of the two muggles.

"Your official residence has been provided by her majesty and tailors have been hired to provide you and your fiances with an appropriate wardrobe. The purple files have the laws, peerage, and other important minueta that you need to learn quickly. You are in line for the crown after the rest of the Windsor family as the youngest and adopted prince," the younger muggle attendant explained handing over the pile of files. "All of this is a summary so that you have some idea what's going on as quickly as possible. The yellow file is for your fiances."

"The black dragon skin one with the mark of my Hallows is from me," Death whispered invisibly into his ear before his presence disappeared.

"I despise paperwork," Harry informed them all, glaring balefully at the pile of folders. With a deep sigh of resignation he accepted them only to shrink them and put the whole pile in his pocket for later. "Alright, any other reason I have to be here?"

"The entire day is dedicated to Dumbledore's trial and the associated trial of three abusive muggles in his employ. Apparently they took care of young wizard on his behalf and badly mistreated him," Severus said quietly. "We collected them several days ago and didn't have the chance until now to hand them over to the Aurors."

"Stubborn snakes, I thought I told you that I just wanted to forget!" Harry growled but didn't object when the turtlefied Dursleys were handed over to the nearest Auror.

"If you are unwilling to get justice for yourself how can you be expected to get _justice_ rather than revenge when seeking it for others?" Voldemort reasoned as he led them to their new seats behind where the minister's seat was.

The ornate and very comfy set of plush thrones that sat there waiting for them had Harry glaring at the shear indulgence. He allowed himself to grudgingly slip into the slightly taller throne in the middle when both of his fiances looked at him pointedly. When he finally turned to face the prisoners Harry had to silently admit that they might need the obvious theatrics. Dumbledore stood there tall and fresh as a daisy, _twinkling_ at them all as if this was little more than a child's tantrum.


	21. Dursley Testimony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because of some parts of this the trial is being split and you're getting short bursts.  
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I hope we can clear this up quickly. I really must get back to the school and Harry needs to go home with his relatives to get reacquainted," Dumbledore said in his most grandfatherly voice. The low growl that came from Harry's fiances soothed him enough that he was able to control himself at the mention of being returned to the Dursley's _care_.

"I am not a pet, a weapon, or in any way yours," Harry told him, granite faced, completely forgetting the presence of everyone else but his fiances. "Try to force me back there and I _will_ kill them. Then I will come after _you_."

"Insane old fool," Severus hissed under his breath, his fiances the only ones to hear him. He knew the proceedings were taking slightly longer than normal because the court scribe, Percy Weasley, and Madam Bones had to read through the file he had slipped each of them when handing over the Dursleys. A grim nod from Madam Bones told them she was done and not happy in the least.

"I move that the charges be read and that the use of Veritaserum be used," Voldemort grated out, glaring viciously at his former teacher. "We wouldn't want him to lie to us now would we?"

"If he does I bet Death will be perfectly willing to testify," Harry added with a snort of derision aimed at the man he once would have happily called grandfather. A low chuckle in his mind was a clear agreement from said entity. Harry mentally rolled his eyes at the particularly evil undertone and refocused on the proceedings.

"Why don't we first certify that they are who they appear to be?" Someone suggested tentatively. Apparently yesterday's show of both power and influence had scared some of the lords.

"Certainly," Fudge blustered, trying to get back in control of the situation he quickly called for a healer to examine them.

Twenty minutes later Dumbledore was certified as being himself and Vernon was certified as a paranoid muggle. Surprisingly Petunia and Dudley were certified as squibs before being given a blood test which identified the magical family. Harry was silently horrified to discover that he was actually related to the old man that had tortured him for so long while pretending to care about him. The hand's of his fiances on his arm and thigh respectively kept him grounded and allowed him to keep his stoic mask in place, giving away nothing. Dumbledore's genial smile never wavered.

Everyone was so used to his lemon drop habit that it took a new muggleborn Auror to stop him from eating one and taking them off of him. This sparked a round of tests for potions in his system. The look of pure disgust sent his way by the healer and at least half of the Wizengamott when the antidote to Veritaserum was found in his system did not bode well for the man.

"It will take at least an hour, possibly two to no longer be effective. I would recommend waiting two and half hours before administering the Veritaserum. Two and half hours in which he is not to consume _anything_ ," Severus drawled, looking at the results and putting his potions mastery to good use. He did his best to ignore the disappointed look from his former friend and employer. He couldn't do anything about the icy stab of guilt to his heart that usually accompanied such a look from the man.

"Is it safe to use Veritaserum on the Dursleys?" Harry asked, his voice slightly pained at needing to ask the question and the knowledge they held over him. He completely ignored the nasty glare that Petunia sent his way and the purpling of Vernon's complexion.

"Yes, the adult male needs a reduced dose to avoid causing cardiac arrest but it is safe," Severus answered, not even bothering to dignify them with using their names.

"You horrible boy! Your the reason that Lily is dead and my life went to hell, being forced to raise that demon spawn!" Petunia screeched suddenly. Severus flinched but didn't back down, choosing instead to sneer at her before retiring to his throne next to his fiances. Only Harry and Voldemort were able to detect the minute tremors in his hands as he sat down.

"You are quite wrong about that. _I_ am the one who killed Lily Potter. It was someone else who placed Harry in your care and if I knew for certain who it was they would be lying dead at my feet," Voldemort snarled out at the woman. He wasn't in any way bothered with lying about knowing who had placed Harry with them. He'd figured out it was Dumbledore some time ago, simply adding to the grievances that he already had against the man.

"Let us start with questioning the Dursleys," Madam Bones suggested, sending her own glare towards Dumbledore. "As this is a case concerning treason and abuse of a child all magic in the room is automatically suppressed and the accused are not allowed to refuse to answer."

The look of utter shock on Dumbledore's face was perfect in Voldemort's opinion. Apparently the man hadn't thought he'd actually be charged with _treason_ and _child abuse_. The Dark Lord idly wondered what he thought he was going to be charged with, reckless endangerment? Percy shakily red off the official charges by person.

Dumbledore:  
Child Endangerment; Multiple counts  
Reckless Endangerment; Multiple counts  
Accessory to Child Abuse; Multiple counts  
Accessory to Child Neglect; Multiple counts  
Misuse of Authority; Multiple counts  
Terrorism; Multiple counts  
Treason; Multiple counts

Vernon/Petunia Dursley:  
Child Abuse; Multiple counts  
Child Neglect; Multiple counts

Dudley Dursley:  
Underage, present due to trial of legal guardians and as witness.

Hearing the charges or rather lack thereof against Dudley Harry was unaccountably relieved. Dudley was also quickly led to a conjured seat nearby, showing his different status.

"Exactly how long have you been building a case against him?" Harry asked Voldemort, looking at him sideways.

"Since shortly after graduation," Voldemort told him bluntly. "I couldn't always find proof but there was clear indication of much of what he's done. Some of the actions of his precious order actually qualify as treason and terrorism. Severus, expect to be called to re-count your own actions. You've already been cleared of wrong doing for most of them and the rest you performed under threat making you the victim."

The next step was feeding the Dursleys Veritaserum in turn and asking questions. Surprisingly, one of the first question covered a lot of the issues that had to be covered. Harry could only think that a particularly clever muggleborn was responsible for it. "Have you done anything that may be illegal in either magical or non-magical society?" Oh the deluge that released had most of the Wizengamot being automatically silenced by the magic of the courtroom so that the testimony could still be heard.

In addition to Harry's mistreatment and the admission that they knew indulging Dudley so much was wrong there were other shocking crimes. Vernon was embezzling from his company, misusing the funds allocated to take care of Harry, and had solid plans to rape then kill him. A pale Petunia went next admitting to attempting to kill Harry on more than one occasion, treating him like a slave, and attempting to abandon him multiple times. They both admitted to purposefully torturing him in various fashions. The satisfied glee in Vernon's face made Harry sick, while Petunia's weary resignation tugged at his heart. The last thing they admitted to was purposefully teaching Dudley that Harry was essentially worth less than a pig raised to be slaughtered for food. Only Harry's flailing magic kept his fiances in their seats as they tried to calm him while keeping their own sorely tested tempers. Dudley's disturbed and horrified expression told everyone he had no idea about any of this.

"It is unfortunate that muggles are not subject to Azkaban and its Dementors or the Kiss. Thankfully, _Squibs_ are," A shaky Lord Nott said vehemently as he glared at the married couple.

"Then why couldn't Dudley see the Dementors in the other timeline if he was a squib?" Harry asked curiously. Death spooked most of the room when he decided to phase into existence behind Harry with an evil chuckle.

"Because of how small his core is on top of being sealed as a squib," Death told him, making Harry jump and swear at the being as he faded away with a laugh. Disgruntled, Harry returned to his seat and started plotting some way of getting back at Death.

"Why?" Harry asked his relatives bluntly.

"I should have killed you when you were left on our doorstep! You aren't human and don't deserve to live! Demon Spawn!" Vernon raged, trying to force his way out of the part of the room's magic holding him in place.

"Dumbledore ordered that you be kept humble but alive," Petunia was forced to admit, sagging almost as if she was collapsing in on herself. "We knew he planned to kill you at some point or have you die and we were paid handsomely to put up with your... abnormality."

At those words Harry lost control of his magic and slammed through the suppression field on the room, shattering it. As the field shattered the magic of his fiances surged, joining his as the combined magics shot towards the two in a visible spear of pure magic. When it hit them there was nothing left. The only thing that saved Dumbledore was his own magic surging to protect him. He was still knocked to the floor, a charred and moaning mass of unrecognizable flesh. His magic then visibly leached from him into a specially carved stone set into the floor near the entrance to the courtroom. Less than five minutes later he fell unconscious, leaving the room deadly silent but for the rattling wheeze of his burnt breathing. Death crooned as he faded back into existence behind Harry. He vanished the backs of their chairs before taking his master and his fiances into his arms, cuddling them.

"Its alright, you don't have to worry about them any more. Its okay to cry," Death said in as soothing a voice as he could. Doing his best to stand in as a parent to the three abused men as he kept anyone from approaching them. It was seeing the state that his royal attendants were in that brought it all home and allowed Harry to start crying. Voldemort and Severus quickly broke down as well, flashing back to their own mistreatment as the three of them cried all over Death like terrified toddlers.

Dumbledore was tended to and kept alive but given no pain relievers by the disgusted and sick court healer. His lungs were checked and cleared out before his burnt skin was magically stripped away and forcibly regrown. The spell had originally been designed to help harvest important animal skins but was sometimes used in special medical situations. The important thing to the court healer at that moment was that it hurt like the Dickens and kept the patient alive.

By the time order was restored and everyone had calmed down a bit Prince Harry Potter and his fiances were fully composed. Death had once more returned to his work, satisfied at gaining two victims that had irked him for a very long time.


	22. Immortal Judgement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate writing trials, they never want to be written!  
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The inadvertent break in the trial allowed the spectators and the press a chance to get up and stretch. Some of the more iron stomached even went and got a snack. The quiet gossip about the trial and everything that had happened to lead up to it provided an almost soothing background noise. 

Dudley had been led away at some point for a medical check before being given over to the appropriate children's services. If his medical check for some strange reason showed him to have magic he would be placed first with the Department of Magical Family Services(DMFS) then go to a magical family. He would go to the equivalent muggle government service with an appropriately modified file should he be a squib or a muggle. The only way he'd go somewhere else would be if someone applied to the DMFS for custody or adoption. Harry and Marge were the only ones who might be offered custody before anyone else as blood family. Harry had no intention of doing so and Marge would simply continue the abuse called over-indulgence thus disqualifying her.

Before they started again Harry took his fiances aside and dragged his courage out of its hiding place to blurt out something his Slytherin side had been dying to ask. "Do you think we can offer him to Lady Magic, Lady Fate, and Death to punish? I don't think we can actually do enough to him so that he understands what he's done wrong. If we give him to them he's less likely to be able to meddle while we try to fix this mess..." Harry was on metaphorical tippy-toes as he anxiously waited for the other two wizards to answer.

"That's not a bad idea," Voldemort said softly, glancing at Severus to confirm his thoughts on the matter.

"They might like the tribute if they're as frustrated with him as we are," Severus conceded, sending a speculative glance at the still unconscious wizard complete with shiny new skin.

"We'd have to call on them for judgement to make it official but it should work," Voldemort added, noting the relieved look of his little fiance. After that the court room was quickly called to order and everyone resumed their seats. The healer from earlier waited for everyone to get comfortable before tossing an angry _Enervate_ at Dumbledore, forcing him awake for his part of the trial.

"The previous evidence presented against Albus Dumbledore is damning enough that we feel this court can not honestly judge this man. As such it has been proposed to present him to Lady Magic and Lord Death for judgement without outside interference," Voldemort announced with absolute authority and barely restrained anger matched with loathing aimed directly at the old man. The out cry was immense, the crowd wanted its pound of blood and those who followed Dumbledore cried out at the unfairness of such an unprecedented act.

" _ **SILENCE!!!**_ " Harry thundered, his magic enhancing his voice to a truly deafening roar. "This is the exact reason why we cannot accurately judge this man and his crimes. I call upon Lady Magic, Lady Fate, and Lord Death to render Judgement upon Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Judgement for the crimes and misdeeds he has committed against both Muggle and Magical worlds and the people individually affected by his callous disregard of both personal choice and basic rights of all beings!"

An ominous cloud made of dark purples and deep blues swiftly engulfed an area right in front of the panel of the Wizengamot. There were several shouts of surprise and screams of fear as the smokey cloud faded away to reveal three figures. Death had taken on his popularly recognized skeletal reaper form. To his right there were two beautiful women one with skin in palest white and the other a lovely caramel-mocha color. Lady Fate was in a slinky over the shoulder purple dress of the finest quality that offset her caramel colored skin to perfection while her eyes showed white hourglass pupils. Lady magic was draped in a robe of darkest night made of the best acromantula silk carefully blended with silky cashmere goat hair.

" _ **FOR WHAT DO YOU CALL US MORTALS?**_ " Death thundered, loud enough to shake the room to their very bones. Harry was both delighted and amused that Death was making a point of glowering at everyone but him and his two fiances. The flinch that Severus and Voldemort each were unable to suppress, however, nearly had him breaking his poker face and frowning in concern.

"Lord Death, Lady Magic, Lady Fate," Harry greeted them politely.

"Master," Death said in amusement, knowing perfectly well that Harry was intentionally drawing their attention away from everyone else for the moment. As a result he did absolutely nothing to curb the squeals and cooing that Fate and Magic degenerated into as they hurried over to try and cuddle his petite form.

"He's ours!" Voldemort protested vigorously, Severus snarling right beside him as they promptly wrestled Harry free of their grip. A very ruffled Harry pouted at the powerful women only to get more coos over how cute he is.

"Hecate, Dalia, would you mind leaving my master alone?" Death asked dryly, amusement clear in his voice.

"But he's so _cuuute_!" Dalia aka Fate protested. Hecate nodded vigorously and had to jerk one of her wandering hands back from trying to pet Harry, much to his fiances' disgruntlement.

"You've both seen him before and didn't act like this," Death pointed out acidly.

"But that was a _business_ deal," Hecate pouted. "Besides he isn't just yours he's ours too!"

"Oh for the love of! We're in front of the wizarding ruling body! Do you honestly think they called us just for a chat?!" Death demanded. The woman were instantly all business, the sharp reminder that they really did have a job to do working to perfection. The duo quickly returned to their places and each conjured a comfy chair for them to sit in.

"I didn't think they'd try to maul me," Harry muttered as he and his fiances warily returned to their own seats.

"Think before you _act_ brat!" Severus admonished with a low hiss before grudgingly withdrawing his protectively placed limbs.

"I think I'll go by Urd at the moment," Dalia now Urd said with a smirk as they watched everyone comport themselves so that the trial could once more move forwards.

"As you wish, its not like the mortals can pronounce our proper names," Death agreed with a bony shrug. "Though, keep in mind that they aren't the best at keeping track of too many name shifts. It has something to do with maintaining their own mental stability and sense of reality."

"I know," Hecate said with a mournful sigh. "They simply aren't as stable as beings with either better memory or lesser memory. Though their innovations are rather nice at times."

"Lets get on with this. I want to cuddle green-eyes again!" Urd declared with a cackle that sent shivers down everyone's spine.

The charges were quickly recounted:

Child Endangerment; Multiple counts  
Reckless Endangerment; Multiple counts  
Accessory to Child Abuse; Multiple counts  
Accessory to Child Neglect; Multiple counts  
Misuse of Authority; Multiple counts  
Terrorism; Multiple counts  
Treason; Multiple counts

Harry was one of the first witnesses called as the position of himself and his fiances actually gave them more credibility to the immortal beings.

"We could rip the information from his mind, review our own notes and the like but honestly? Its going to be a bit more interesting to go through the mortal court process rather than to simply render judgement. Its not like its often that we manage to manifest or are even interested in something like this," Hecate explained with a smirk of her own to wary Harry.

So the young Master of Death succinctly recounted his time at the Dursleys, his time at Hogwarts, and the utter bloody mess that was the events of the first timeline before following along to the deal and the eventual change over to the current timeline. His testimony horrified nearly everyone in the room and caused multiple members of audience, press, and Wizengamot to sick up. Then Voldemort and Severus testified of their own limited time in both the bloody future and in dealing with the headmaster. By the end of it all there were additional charges of Blackmail, Stalking, and Torture. The final verdict? Guilty on all counts.

"I think that we've just found a new plaything. What say you ladies?" Death said darkly, his anger almost palpable.

"Oh, yes. I think that's absolutely purrrfect," Urd agreed with an evil smirk.

Hecate nodded in agreement before grimly making the official announcement. "Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, you have been found guilty of your crimes by this immortal court. From this day forwards until such time as we deem to release you, you have become our slave and plaything. Sentence to last no longer than 55 million years unless otherwise petitioned by subject, to immediately be followed by banishment to hell. Judgement is rendered and court has ended. So mote it be!"

Urd immediately got up and headed for Harry with a predatory look in her eye, as Hecate idly banished the old man to a pocket dimension for later. She was brought up short with a squawk by Death snagging the neck of her dress and bodily dragging her backwards away from him.

"Leave my master and his mates alone! I'll not have one of you driving him insane when he gets into enough trouble as it is," Death growled, tossing the other immortal back into her chair.

"But Death," Urd whined.

"No! He's my champion and I wasn't happy about the mess that gave either of you power over him in the first place. I have the stronger claim by his own actions now leave him be!" Death shot back irritably. "We need to leave any way with how we're exhausting his magic supply. As the invoker he's been the one supplying our physical form. Now go!"

"Oh, alright," Urd muttered rebelliously as the immortal trio faded out of existence, leaving behind only their chairs as evidence of their passing.


	23. Supper Politics

"That was more... disturbing than I thought it would be," Harry's voice broke into the stunned silence of the courtroom.

"I found it utterly terrifying," Severus said honestly.

"Just be glad they didn't decide to take an undue interest," Voldemort agreed with a shiver. "I'm really hoping that trying to snatch our imp was just playfulness since we were able to retrieve him but it also could have been because we still have a job to do."

Harry officially released everyone from the room as the trial was now over. Fudge with Umbridge at his side quickly tried to make their way towards the reporters in an attempt to get their own statements out first. Lucius Malfoy, on the other hand, kindly directed the trio through the same exit that led into a separate ante chamber as the rest of the Wizengamot normally used. Not a single person was surprised when Harry practically dropped towards the ground in emotional exhaustion, barely caught by his equally tired fiances. There wasn't a word or objection voiced when several marked Wizengamot members formed up around them in a protective circle. What surprised these members of the Dark Faction though was the fact that everyone else mirrored them, keeping Harry and his fiances in the middle.

"I don't understand," Severus voiced his confusion as he watched the protective maneuvering of the magicals dressed in maroon.

"Severus your fiances are the Dark Lord and the Master of Death, on top of that young Mr. Potter clearly has the favor of Fate, Death, and Magic. Do you honestly think that any sane person would try to fight the three of you? For that matter do you think that Dumbledore's pet order won't try to attack you for getting their precious Light Lord enslaved and probably banished from this world for a very long time? Not to mention that its only prudent to protect our new monarch and his fiances," Lucius pointed out softly as the group moved swiftly through the protected back tunnels to the Wizengamot restricted areas, offices, and dinning area. "You know as well as I there will be dissidents who target the three of you. What you probably don't know is that with a true King in place over the squabbling bureaucrats things can actually get done. Also with the three of you being favored by Death, Magic, and Fate _no one_ can argue that your claim isn't valid and have it hold any water."

Severus lapsed into quiet contemplation as they moved down the hall, half carrying his smaller fiance with Voldemort on the opposite side. When they reached the dinning hall they discovered that someone had gone out of their way to rearrange it and that someone else had thought to explain to Harry's new muggle retainers. A quick pepper-up for each of the royal trio from Severus' potions pouch and they were able to pay proper attention to what was happening around them.

Once everyone was seated according to rank small menus arrived on top of their plates. Severus and Voldemort had quietly explained the associated peerage to Harry as everyone took their seats so he wasn't totally lost but everyone waiting for _him_ to pick up the menu really drove his new rank home. The Lords of Lesser Noble House were seated the farthest away from him then came the Lords of the Noble Houses, then the Lords of the Ancient Houses, then the Lords of the combined Ancient and Noble houses. Those with the prefix Most before Noble or Ancient were automatically higher ranked than their fellows who did not have it as part of their title. Ironically, this would have placed Sirius slightly higher than Lucius in status as everything was arranged had he still been alive.

According to Severus and Voldemort the title of Noble or Lesser Noble House required a certain amount of gold. While the associated title of Ancient required a certain recorded and provable age to a family line as well as its own level of gold. To gain the prefix Most to the titles required nearly double the requirements of only having for both of the the original titles of Noble or Ancient alone.

Thus the ranking went:   
Prince Harry  
Future Prince Consort Severus (Harry's Right)  
Future Prince Consort Voldemort (Harry's Left)  
Most Noble and Most Ancient Lords  
Noble and Most Ancient Lords  
Most Noble and Ancient Lords  
Noble and Ancient Lords  
Ancient Lords  
Noble Lords  
Lesser Noble Lords

Further quiet instruction during the meal either explained or reminded Harry which utensils were to be used when and in some cases why. The young Prince mostly kept his mouth shut during the meal and listened to the light conversation that eventually sprang up. One popular topic of conversation was who would be the new Headmaster of Hogwarts and what magics would once again become legal along with what other implications that might have. Harry was _very_ interested to hear the thoughts of the Wizengamot members, especially since the various Lords either volunteered for jury duty or were part of the normal rotation of members. As a result Harry learned more about the Wizengamot in the couple of hours the formal dinner took than he had discovered in his entire lifetime thus far.

During the meal Severus flashed back, mentally reliving the horror of finding out what Harry had kept from him. He still felt ill over the way his brat had kept the festering pain of both the Dursleys and some of the more nightmarish bits of the war to himself. Once they got back to one of the houses, either the new royal residence or the one they'd borrowed from the goblins, he was pinning the brat in place and assuring himself that Harry was actually in one piece. The potions master was certain that the Dark Lord would want to join him in that. He also wouldn't be surprised if they both agreed that their brat needed to be reminded that people cared about him or if Harry had nightmares that night. Pounding him nicely into the mattress repeatedly might do the trick and if that wasn't enough... well, they were both genius' and the immortals _had_ said something about them having children together.

Finally, one of the lords chose to address Harry and his fiances.

"So, what sorts of plans do you have in mind... your majesty?" an obviously uncomfortable Lord off to their joint right asked tentatively.

"First, we get rid of some of the more ridiculous laws. Then we set up our own primary schools unless someone can give me a good reason not to. If nothing else it will give us a place to school the muggleborns before they officially enter our world. The parents will be required to sign legal secrecy documents upheld on both sides when the situation is explained as soon as the child first has bouts of accidental magic. This will allow for monitoring of both child and family. I don't know how most magical families are but I have a good idea how certain paranoid muggles will react. Just as an example, if one of your kids started randomly raising the dead and concocting serious war plans to invade the Alleys with equally serious plans to kill anyone who gets in their way... wouldn't you be a tad bit concerned? Because that is almost exactly how many muggle parents view their children having magic. I and my fiances experienced it first hand along with the _entire_ muggle world up in arms in an attempt to kill off all magic. We can _not_ risk inciting war. We _will_ be discovered and the absolute best thing we can do to avoid having to fight and die just for a chance at survival is to be both welcoming and dangerously forbidding. We very nicely point out that we want to be left alone and that we've had the chance to kill them off for centuries but haven't bothered," Harry explained firmly, steel in both voice and gaze.

"They're _muggles_. What can they do to us?" Lestrange senior, father to the Lestrange brothers, sneered in contempt.

Severus' hand on Harry's thigh kept him from responding as the potions master calmly pulled several memories out of his head. Placing it in an empty water glass he quickly cast the spell to allow for group viewing. The memories started to play.

The first one was clearly from when he was younger as some old soldier down the street explained what fighting in the trenches during world war two was like. How the Americans were finally drawn in by enemy action via the slaughter at Pearl Harbor and the ending of it when General Heinrich von Vietinghoff signed the official surrender of the German forces in Italy at the end of April 1945. The horrified looks on the faces of their dinner companions didn't gain any sympathy from Harry, Severus, or Voldemort as the next memory started to play. 

They watched as young Severus got his hands on old news clippings of the American's insane attack against Hiroshima with the atomic bombs making the headlines. The third memory was of having to kill Dumbledore swiftly followed by a memory of the nightmare that became the final battle between Dark and Light in the other timeline. The fifth one was the confusion that followed the shattering of the statute of secrecy with flashes of old and respected magical families being taken out or captured in raids by the muggles. As the last flashes of the prophet's special report from less than 5 years into the future hung frozen in mid-air Harry shattered the unbreathing silence.

"If you want to watch your family die at their hands for being different before joining them in death then by all means swan off and hide in your well protected manors. If you want a chance to survive you will help me _fix_ this bloody mess so that our world doesn't have to die. You heard what Death, Magic, and Fate said in the courtroom today. Will you honor their choices and help us fix it or will I have to have you stripped of your magic and banished?" Harry demanded, voice icy and hard. "This is not a game and the information we presented is very real. Get your heads out of your arses and take a look around at the world you so disdain to notice. The statute _will_ fall, there's no stopping that. Now, I can take my fiances and ask Death, Magic, and Fate to send us somewhere else, somewhere safe where we can simply start our own family and go from there without risk, leaving all of you behind. So far we haven't done it, don't give us a reason to give up on our world and people because if you do it won't be pretty."

The silence was deafening as they processed both what they had just seen and remembered what had been presented in the courtroom. Severus, very calmly, returned his memories to his skull and waited for the first outcry or attack from those surrounding them.

"My loyalty oath stands," Lucius declared, voice hard as he shattered the silence with a public acknowledgement of his Death Eater status.

Voldemort face-palmed and started muttering about the general idiocy of his Death Eaters and what his orders had been in the graveyard. Every word was in parseltongue and had Harry bursting out laughing as Severus rolled his eyes.

"You do know that you've just completely ignored the orders he gave?" Severus reminded with a drawl. "Not only that but you outed yourself, completely and irrevocably."

"He's not insane anymore, why should we hide? Not only that you and Potter aren't insane either and actually seem to be able to stand up to him," Lucius pointed out reasonably. "Besides now that Dumbledore is gone we don't have to worry over his attempts at destroying or controlling us, not to mention that confirmation from _Magic_ in the courtroom. Anyone who stands against you now are complete and utter fools. I will enjoy watching you three destroy them."

"Oh good! I've won the bet and get to prank everyone as much as I want!" Harry said gleefully, earning alarmed looks from a everyone who went to school with his parents.

"You bet him that...?" Severus asked in a suspicious drawl.

"That my people wouldn't be stupid enough to give away their allegiance until _after_ I told them it was safe to do so. Harry bet that not only would someone open their mouth it would be someone from the inner circle. You were in the shower at the time," Voldemort admitted grudgingly. "We both agreed that you were exempt from the bet and that you had the sense not to give anything away without a decent reason even if it was just to get one over on the two of us."

"What am I going to do with the two of you?" Severus asked in a despairing tone of voice, mischief dancing in his eyes.

"I just released a monster haven't I?" Lucius asked belatedly, suddenly dreading the answer.

"He's been in cahoots with the blasted Weasley twins for years and found at least one hand written pranking book by the Marauders. Not to mention he's effectively the child of those four and the brother of the two redheaded menaces. On top of which the youngest currently identified seer has already sworn her allegiance to him... what do you think?" Severus asked in open amusement. Lucius swallowed hard and wondered if he could escape the room, much less the country without getting pranked.

"Oh Lucy!" Harry singsonged wickedly. Lucius followed his gaze to the bucket now hovering over his head, deciding on the Slytherin approach to escaping he addressed the ruling trio.

"What price would I have to pay to avoid being your first victim?" Lucius asked carefully.

"That depends, did you know that the diary would set a _Basilisk_ on the school in my second year?" Harry asked sharply, gaining in-drawn breaths from most people present.

"No, I thought the chit of a girl would have the sense to hand it off to her father so that it could be turned into the ministry. I caught Draco reaching for it a few days before that and the nearly dead look in his eye scared me," Lucius admitted truthfully. "I wasn't exactly subtle about slipping it into her things. I thought that Arthur would be at least paranoid enough to check when I'd snatched up one of her books to taunt him with. I only knew it had to be gone and this was the fastest not to mention safest way I could think of. I had no idea that it had arrived at Hogwarts, where it should have immediately been detected, until you handed it to me with that stupid sock inside it. I was furious and had a vague idea that if I went to far Dobby would stop me when I started to curse you. I'm not entirely sure what curse I started to use when he tossed me down the hallway."

"Don't involve children in your schemes. Next time admit that there was a mistake so we can all help in fixing it. As of now we have more important things to worry about and if we loose our children or are discovered too soon we're screwed," Harry said in a deadly tone as the bucket vanished from over the Malfoy Lord's head.

"What exactly are your policies going to be Lord Potter?" Madam Longbottom asked delicately.

"Exactly what I said in the courtroom. Necromancy is still forbidden. Dark Arts is to be learned at no earlier than 17 and only under the supervision of a certified instructor and a certified healer. I don't like Obliviates or any form of compulsion but I won't mess with the laws involving that yet. They will eventually be restricted to use by healers and love potions will be completely forbidden without the consent of the victim. Any sexual activity under the influence of a love potion or similar is considered rape and attempted line theft. Crucio is still forbidden except in the cases of a those in a loyalty oath being punished by their sworn lord and in strictly monitored information extraction during war time. Imperio is restricted to use by healers and Unspeakables. Avada Kadavera... is acceptable during combat situations as long as at least five other spells are fired first and will require a court review to confirm or deny acceptability with mandatory use of Veritaserum. Anyone learning, teaching, or using Dark Arts is required to have a check up by a healer every six months. This is to catch debilitating affects of miscast magic early and help re-balance the mind for some of the stronger spells," Harry informed them, surprised that they hadn't taken him seriously.

"And magical creatures? Such as Werewolves and the like?" someone asked.

"Werewolves are to be treated just like any witch or wizard except that on the nights of the full moon they are required to retreat to a secure track of land or secured room and take wolvesbane. If they can't afford the potion for some reason then they must be locked into a room lined in silver. Any intentional infections must be either properly filed before hand with permission from the victim, 17 being the minimum age of consent in this, or the offending werewolf will be executed upon capture. Accidental infections will require that the new wolf be fostered and cared for by the infecting wolf until they are deemed fully adapted by a knowledgeable, preferably certified, third party. At which point if the infector shows no remorse or has not otherwise provided compensation to the new wolf they will be executed as a danger to society. Its an illness not a choice, but you still take reasonable precautions just like with Dragon Pox and some of the other really nasty ones," Harry elaborated his stance on Werewolves.

"And the others?" someone else asked ominously.

"We recognize most of them as full people with equal rights in our society as in theirs. We keep a copy of their laws on their books and work out a compromise as things arise. Goblins hold all of our money and are subject to goblin law, they also have the ability to wipe us out and simply haven't bothered. The previous so called goblin rebellions were more about satisfying honor than actually trying to kill us as a people or we would all be dead. As long as they've got the appropriate coin I don't see why anyone should be banned from shopping in our stores. Muggles are mostly forbidden due to the statute of secrecy. Anything that cannot reason nor have their own society with its separate set of laws to match our own and be kept on file for our appropriate reference retains the previous magical creature or being status and restrictions until it can be properly reviewed. The key point is if they have their own set of laws then they are clearly sentient and worthy of equal respect," Harry informed them, a little confused about their confusion.

Before the ugly mutters managed to gain much momentum Voldemort stepped in.

"Before you protest consider this, with these changes we have a chance at survival. The effective unification of the magical world will immediately allow us to withstand more than one of their assaults. It will give us enough of a warning if they discover us that we can find other ways to hide or at least stand strong. If nothing else it will let us get our _children_ out and with the alliance this will create with the magical creatures we would have some of the strongest warriors that magic can provide us to guard them! In the last timeline Harry had to pull more than one child from the broken remains of Hogwarts and the ancient family homes were prime targets," Voldemort warned ominously.

"The muggles accepted the squibs and they led them to the rest of us," Severus added softly. "Betrayed by dormant magical blood because purebloods were too short sighted to realize what was causing the squibs in the first place and keep them close as the ill family members they were. Or did none of you realize that muggleborns are from dormant squib lines?"

"Arguing is going to get us no where. I would have this settled once and for all. Death? Might I have a word?" Harry called out, immediately silencing the room.

"Yes, my little master?" Death asked with a deep chuckle of amusement. He appeared out of the shadows, all black cloak and cowl and bones with a sword sheathed at his hip. The near visible shudder that ran through everyone but Harry, Severus, and Voldemort amused the powerful entity greatly.

"I presume you've been listening to the conversation?" Harry asked dryly, giving the smug skeleton an amused look.

"Oh yes, most certainly," Death agreed, not bothering to deny it.

"What is your counsel on the matter?" Harry asked, slipping back into his hated royal persona from the previous timeline.

"Squibs are magicals that were injured in the womb or the birthing. It is also caused by over use of their magic at either too high a level or too early for their core to compensate. You, my master, are never at risk for becoming a squib since I won't allow it. Usually magical exhaustion of the level necessary to create a squib kills the person unless they are still in the womb and able to draw from their mother's magic to survive. This can also happen in reverse where the mother over exerted her magic and drained the baby's immature core too far. They can still have magical children. Of course the reasoning you were referring to was the excessive inbreeding that causes the same effect, forcing the magic of the line dormant until enough new blood cleans it," Death recited with open amusement. "The inheritance tests of the goblins can usually identify the magical ancestor and families unless they continued practicing incest for an extra five generations or so after loosing their magic. The continued contamination interferes with the magic identifying the blood line until the third generation of returned magic when the magic of the family resurfaces."

"And the rest?" Harry asked dryly.

"Necromancy is to be restricted to my chosen for only I and the creator can cleanse the taint that comes with it. I have not chosen anyone for that gift in a very long time as I am jealous of my domain. Hecate has discussed the use of her craft with me on occasion, usually in response to suicidal idiots, and your restrictions are more than reasonable. I would advise monthly check ups for heavy Dark Arts users and students. As for the magical creatures... I believe that you remembered _my_ classification system and subconsciously decided to use it. Sentient beings have different treatment than mere creatures or animals even in my realm," Death informed them with a cackle.

"Any more objections?" Severus asked mildly, smirking for all he was worth.

"Ah, I need a few souls who are being a bit on the stubborn side. Their refusal to die is actually frustrating Fate to the point that she's ready to throw a screaming fit," Death said, almost embarrassed at the request and his colleague's probable reaction.

"Its in the paperwork you slipped in with the muggle paperwork right?" Harry asked in a resigned tone. Death didn't say anything, instead a list of names appeared in Harry's mind's eye.

Fenrir Greyback  
Remus Lupin  
Bellatrix Lestrange  
Frank Longbottom  
Alice Longbottom  
Eliphas Dodge  
Mark Dearborne  
Draco Malfoy

"That is not the complete list but you can see a pattern that I thought you should be aware of," Death pointed out softly.

"How many of them have to actually die or can I make substitutions?" Harry asked sickly, no longer in any way hungry.

"They don't actually have to die yet... well that's not entirely true a few of them do and you'll know who when you meet them or otherwise encounter them. If I need you to collect them I will appear over your form and we will do it together as is proper. Unless... you three promise and successfully manage to have a child, an _heir_ , within the next ten years or so I will have to collect them within the next three weeks. There are about a hundred on the full list for each name I gave you," Death said judiciously.

"Eight hundred souls... why is it so important that we have a kid so quickly?" Harry asked warily.

"To cement the timeline in place. Ten years is actually pushing it but we didn't think one of you would be willing to get pregnant within the next few weeks," Death pointed out cheerfully. Harry shoved his dinnerware far enough along the table in front of him that he had a clear space and started lightly banging his head on the table. Voldemort rolled his eyes and pulled Harry up into a protective cuddle into his side while Severus' glower dared anyone to comment.

"~Do you not want a family?~" Voldemort hissed softly, making more than one Wizengamot member flinch at the sound of parseltongue.

"~I do. I just would like a bloody choice of my own once in a while,~" Harry hissed back with a grimace that the Dark Lord felt through his robes.

"~Our child will be loved, between the three of us do you honestly think we would allow harm to come to him or her? Severus and I have managed to work out a few of our differences and we are more comfortable with each other now. I have no objection for trying to have a child and I doubt that Severus has one except that he doesn't want to be the one to carry it to term so that he's not banned from the lab for the duration,~" Voldemort hissed soothingly. Harry muttered something unintelligible but nodded into the side of his fiance.

"Thank you," Death said smugly before fading back into the darkness of the shadows. Everyone took that as their cue to hastily make their way home.


	24. Meddling Dieties

They got back to the home the goblins had provided for them just as the pepper up was wearing off. No matter how badly he wanted his two wizards Harry couldn't stay awake long enough to have them. So instead he silently dragged them all to Voldemort's original bedroom, their current joint one, knowing the man wouldn't accept anything less. They quickly changed and curled up on the bed together before falling asleep.

Harry woke the next morning to the sleepy mutterings of his fiances. He mentally debated jumping them but decided he wanted their marriage to be official before starting anything and their earlier comments told him that they didn't mind waiting. He also reluctantly remembered all of the paperwork he had pocketed yesterday. Paperwork. The bane of his existence.

"Whatever you're thinking about stop it," Severus scolded softly, proving he was more awake than he'd let on. Harry let out a disgruntled noise but didn't object to skipping thoughts of paperwork.

"I... I want to be the one to carry our first baby," Voldemort voiced softly into the silence of their bedroom.

"I always figured you for a top," Harry said, more than a little non-plused.

"If one of you would rather..." Voldemort began with uncharacteristic meekness only to be silenced by lips pressed gently against his own.

"We didn't say that," Harry chided softly as he drew back from the kiss.

"Hardly," Severus agreed. "I wouldn't mind carrying our children but my work is dangerous and Harry will have to be out in the muggle public fairly often once the adoption interview is published. We never even considered that you might want to be the one to carry the baby. I suppose I rather assumed that I would either have to give up my potions work during the pregnancy or we'd have to find a way for Harry to go into seclusion until the baby was born."

"But I do want to," Voldemort said more confidently.

"Alright," Harry acknowledged with a grin. "That actually solves part of my problem. I didn't think either of you would let me top and Uncle Vernon... well he and Dudley liked cornering me."

"Then we will have to let you keep most of the control and get more comfortable with our larger forms before either of us looms over you," Severus agreed readily with all due seriousness.

"I'm not that worried about that as long as I'm not actually trapped against a wall or a corner. You haven't seen me bothered by our cuddling have you?" Harry shot back with a snort of amusement. "Besides as much as seeing them again brought back nightmares they preferred to treat me like diseased filth unworthy of touch except to punish. You two are the opposite and I like the cuddling."

At these words they both pounced smothering him playfully with cuddles and kisses as Harry himself laughed. This quickly degenerated into lustful moans and hot hands grabbing at warm flesh. What followed was an exquisite joining that none of them had ever thought they would have. Fate, Magic, and Death having been more frustrated by the lack of advancement in their relationship than they were pounced at the moment of their completion. A mixed glow of white, purple, and blue washed over them as bonding bracelets appeared on their left hands and the marriage magics snapped into place. The next sensation was that of shattering glass which was quickly replaced by that of a thick rope stretched between them, linking them together.

"Congratulations on your marriage and the status change of your spouses from mortal to immortal. Incidentally, the problematic prophecy shattered," Death's voice whispered along their skins with an indulgent chuckle as they slid into sleep.

An hour later Harry woke, his husbands to either side of him in their nest of a bed. It took 30 seconds for him to remember Death's words and start cursing over meddling immortals, waking his new husbands.

"What is it?" Severus asked sleepily.

"We're married, the two of you are immortal, and those three.... stubborn deities decided to meddle," Harry growled. He stalked away from the bed towards the wardrobe only to stalk back near the bed and be yanked back onto the mattress by a scowling Severus.

"Did you think that they wouldn't?" Voldemort asked with a satisfied hum of contentment, pleasantly sore from their earlier play. He could already tell he'd gotten his wish but knew that they couldn't prove anything about the pregnancy for at least a week.

"At least they didn't meddle with us having sex," Harry said with resignation. "I would love the baby any way but it wouldn't stop me from being annoyed at them."

"They hardly needed to with how powerful the three of us are," Voldemort said with a pleased grin that immediately gave him away.

"You're pregnant?" Harry asked in shock. Voldemort nodded smugly. Severus responded by rolling his eyes in fondness before dragging the covers back over the three of them.

"Sleep! We'll eat in bed today and decide what else we want to do later," Severus ordered in a muffled voice as his husbands cuddled against him in the warmth of the bed. They easily complied, happy at the thought of their growing family.


	25. Paperwork and Unpleasant Updates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is apparently a ravening monster and wants to keep growing... be prepared for it to eventually slip into more than 100k words, possibly more. Glad you're all having fun!  
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They lazed about, enjoying the time together and learning each other that day. The next day though they woke to the rude reminder of Harry's upcoming interview as the newest child of the Royal Windsor family. The paperwork was also going to be a pain. The first thing they did once they made it to the breakfast table was pull out the paperwork that Harry had received the day of the trial.

"Why do you think he chose whatever names you saw?" Severus asked softly as he cuddled around a blushing Voldemort. Harry had pulled out his paperwork with a grimace of distaste almost as soon as they got back to the suite. Absently conjuring a simple wooden desk for him to work at near the bed but still out of the way if his new husbands wanted to move around.

"I knew most of the names. As you know, I got into the habit of asking clarifying questions when I had to use the Death Eaters as an active military unit and strike force as things started going to shit. Death was a bit more careful about not letting himself be seen last time around but he did sometimes pop up with information or with the intent to make a nuisance of himself. Of course when he was lurking it generally led to me realizing there was something off or something we were missing. I think he is constrained about how much help he can actively give me or anyone else without some sort of protocol or requirements being met first," Harry admitted as he sorted the ministry paperwork from the muggle paperwork that had somehow gotten mixed together. Death's paperwork behaved and stayed in its probably magical black folder.

"Ah, yes, the tactical mind that let you outwit so many attacks on your life and the lives of those you care for," Severus hummed in pleasure, pulling a squirmy Voldemort back into his spoon position on the bed.

"When is the interview?" Voldemort asked softly, blushing even further at Severus' actions but not objecting the slightly tighter hold.

"Just after lunch," Harry admitted with a grimace. "We'll have to meet them, tell them about our marriage, and about the baby. I don't think many of my new family will be pleased about the situation. I'm hoping we can avoid a succession battle since I've been officially designated as the magical heir of our part of the Wizarding World. I was hoping the two of you would come with me but I understand if you don't want to or can't."

Voldemort and Severus exchanged an exasperated glance before turning playful scowls on their husband. The hopeful yet sadly resigned look they saw on Harry's face broke their hearts and immediately banished their playful scowls.

"We'll both come," Voldemort answered for the two of them. The radiant smile that got them made them all warm and had them both plotting how to sneak up on Harry for a good snogging session.

"That's a load off my mind," Harry said happily before disappointing both of his husbands to resume sorting through the paperwork instead of paying attention to them. It wasn't that they didn't understand the demands of paperwork, it was just that more time alone with their husband would have been nice.

"You will call for me before the interview during the initial meet and greet," Death's voice came out of thin air right behind Harry making the smaller wizard jump and clutch at his madly beating chest.

"What are you trying to do?! Give me a bloody heart attack?!" Harry demanded of the entity, not seeing him anywhere.

"Now that would be counter productive would it not? You are bound to me as my master and the power of my Hallows runs in your very veins. I have made your mates immortal and spoken on your behalf to others of my rank and power. Allowing you to have a heart attack would serve no better purpose than to irritate you... and possibly fool idiots into thinking I would leave you vulnerable to such weakness," Death said smugly, his words echoing around the room.

"You purposefully pranked me," Harry said flatly.

"Well, if you don't want the information for your meeting you needed only say so," Death said almost huffily.

"Harry is simply upset that you chose to startle him. The three of us have all had to learn how vulnerable we are the hard way," Severus counciled softly. Voldemort nodded his agreement with a shiver and tucked himself more firmly against Severus.

"It appears I have... miscalculated in my attempts to distract you from unpleasant memories. My apologies, Master," Death said contritely.

"Its alright," Harry said, clearly uncomfortable. "What was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Only that I don't mind being used as a carrot or a stick for something like this... it keeps the paperwork down," Death admitted, still refusing to materialize. "You also might want to point out that I made you immortal and can volunteer information that anyone dead knows but that only applies to you, your mates, and possibly your children. I haven't decided if I am going to make the ability to barter information from me a part of your bloodline or not. At the moment its more connected to your status as my master and the fact that I like you."

"Good to know," Harry said with a surprised blink of his eyes. "Any idea what bit of paperwork I should be looking at first?"

"The interview outlines. I would suggest going over them with your mates since most of them would turn out badly for them. Some of them even have provisions about you being required to marry another royal from a different country to help keep your new family in power. As you are now bonded with your soulmates that would turn out badly," Death warned him.

"We're not sharing him," Voldemort growled protectively. Severus nodded his agreement even as one of his hands slid down to possessively linger over Voldemort's belly and the baby growing inside him.

"And I would not dignify any forced union or any union in which both my master and his chosen hadn't actually consented to as valid," Death agreed whole heartedly. "If they attempt anything of the sort I'll simply break the bond and collect the impertinent soul, possibly with the souls of the other idiots involved in the plot."

"Right, good to know," Harry said with another surprised blink. Deciding that trying to figure out the mind of Death wasn't the best idea he followed the being's suggestion and turned to look at the blue interview folder. With a sudden feeling of dread slid the blue file in front of him and opened it to look at the various interview scenarios.

The first thing he noticed about the contents was that they were tagged with various colors and code words. It probably so that he could just mention the code at the interview and everyone would be on roughly the same page. The second thing he noticed was the threat someone had slipped into the folder. The moment he started cursing both his husbands were up and at his side, peering at the paperwork and easily noticing the unofficial threat.

"Death? Will it be safe for Severus and Voldemort to accompany me to the interview?" Harry asked grimly.

"I will ensure it if it comes to that," Death said with equal grimness.

"And the baby?" Voldemort asked softly.

"I can not promise to preserve the fetus, it does not yet have enough life to survive on its own for me to preserve nor is it fully formed," Death admitted reluctantly. "I would advise admitting to the full truth of the situation, magic, time travel and all. The shock of discovery rather than a willingness to reveal your community helped drive the original paranoia higher. By coming clean you simultaneously reveal the community, that they have a strong ruler, actually have laws, and there is a loss of the appearance of being found out for the deception. Cite the witch burnings as one of the reasons for hiding. You should also point out that in times past and even today christian magic users have served as valued helpers to rulers around the world. Cite the forbidden nature of Necromancy and Demon magic as well as the lost information over the centuries. Cite also the fact that there are laws protecting the non-magical from the magical but point out that if your people are attacked they have every right to fight back in any way they see fit. If you wish I can join you on camera and allow the device to capture my image but the revelation of your status as my master may be more trouble than it is worth."

"And the muggleborns?" Severus asked with a sense of dread.

"Admit that children can be born with magic yet have no remembered magical ancestor. Ask that any child who displays magical tendencies be brought to a police station for examination by a trained magical healer. If the muggles choose not to keep the child then the child will be in safe magical hands until it can be placed in an appropriate magical home. If they choose to keep the child then they can walk away with an explanation and a pamphlet about the situation. Establishing a helpline for people to call when they have problems or the child's magic becomes too active would also be wise," Death mused. "Of course all three of you have considered these potential issues and solutions to one extent or another long before now. Use your imagination."

"Its up to you. We will support you in whatever you choose to do but I can see the logic in his suggestions. I simply don't see how we can organize it quickly unless we press all the Death Eaters into service and not all of them can be trusted with children or around muggles," Severus pointed out, drawing Harry into a side hug mirrored by Voldemort on his other side.

Harry blew out a heavy breath before making his decision.

"Dobby?" Harry called, only for the energetic elf to immediately pop into the room with a cry of joy. He spoke before the small creature could get started. "Dobby I need a message passed to every magical creature and every magical household in the British Empire. As the sole magical heir of the Royal Windsor Family I am going to try and head off some of the negative effects of the Statute of Secrecy being broken from outside our community. I will be revealing our world to the muggles this afternoon. I need volunteer healers and general to help any muggleborns and their parents that arrive at a muggle Auror station, also known as a police station, once I make the announcement. This will include helping to fill out paperwork so we don't just need people who are certified healers or can fight in the case of things going bad. As of the revelation of our world the _Obliviate_ spell will become illegal except in the hands of trained mind healers. All Ministry Obliviators will automatically be transferred to the Aurors and other Ministry Departments for retraining. I would like a pleasant looking relatively safe magical creature to accompany each healer so that the children and adults can get a better idea of what _magic_ means without scaring the pants off of them. I will also need a volunteer magical creature to accompany myself and my mates to the interview."

"Dobby can bes doing this," Dobby agreed with awe in his voice.

"Make it also known that as Harry Potter has, with his recent adoption, become the defacto magical ruler and the fact that he is now married to the two of us. Make certain to include the fact that we also have a child on the way," Severus instructed smugly. Voldemort gave him a half hearted glare but reluctantly nodded his agreement.

"Make sure that each healer gets a skilled volunteer to guard them in case of magic phobic muggles attempting an attack and that the magical creatures can defend themselves along with any children present," Voldemort instructed, his hand rubbing lightly at his flat belly.

"Make certain that the goblins and their King know about my plans _before_ I make the announcement. I need to know if I should refrain from mentioning them," Harry added. A grimace crossed his face at the thought of the catastrophe that would occur if he didn't clear that little tid bit with King Jareth. Dobby blanched at that thought and nodded a vigorous agreement.

"Elf, inform your brethren that should you succeed in making the transiton smooth enough to avoid war for the next 200 years I will give them a reward. I will inform my master, Harry Potter, of how to return your people to the form they held before underhill closed its doors. I am also willing to explain a ritual that will allow transformed house elves to no longer _need_ to be bound to wizards. This will allow them to break their bond and walk away from unworthy masters and choose another upto five times or choose no master once without harm. Should they choose no master then they are bound as to a new life, including the loss of any right to vendetta for past hurts," Death informed Dobby gravely. Dobby in turn went bone white at the realization of who else was present.

"Yeses Mr. Death sir! Is Masters needing anything else?" Dobby answered shakily.

"No, and thank you for doing this Dobby. If you decide you want to bond to me afterwards I'll ask Severus about the bonding ritual so that we can do it properly. I will also interview any elf and their family that would like to bond to me and mine. God knows that we'll need all the help we can get to make this transition smooth," Harry informed the elf tiredly. The emotion of the entire thing already making him want to take a nap or better yet hide away with his husbands until it all went away. Dobby gave a shaky bow and a weak smile before popping away on his very important task.

"Lay down. Voldemort and I will sort out the wardrobe while you rest. Since we're going with the truth there are fewer preparations to be made," Severus ordered kindly as they both led their smaller husband over to the bed.

"Severus can start on it while I cuddle with you for a bit," Voldemort agreed, noticing the shy looks that Harry kept tossing his way as if afraid to touch him or ask for comfort. That thought immediately cheered Harry up as he gratefully laid down on the bed to cuddle his pregnant husband. Severus chuckled and left them too it as he headed for their wardrobe.


	26. Interviews and Tricky Shadows

In hindsight it had been too easy. King Jareth had agreed to the revelation with the caveat that the goblin nation would defend themselves with extreme prejudice if they came under attack. They had absolutely no trouble contacting the two attendants that were assigned to Harry, nor had they any trouble getting to Buckingham Palace and the room set aside for the interview. The mixed looks at the three of them all gussied up flat out told them that there was something wrong. Harry took a deep breath and decided to use his Gryffindor courage to take the bull by the horns.

"Alright, who's cleared to know about the Statute of Secrecy and all it entails?" Harry asked, figuring he'd better find out who already knew what.

"It doesn't matter. All of them are in line for the throne and will have to be told," Queen Elizabeth dismissed the question as she made her way out of the center of the group consisting of Harry's new family.

"I just figured I'd find out who knows what so we can cover what's actually needed rather than going over redundant information before the interview you arranged, ma'am," Harry said politely. "The adoption and everything surrounding it is going to be a nightmare to explain even if they're fully up to date on the Statute."

"It won't hurt them to hear everything again and the youngest haven't been told anything. Why don't we start with your life's story and expand from there," the Queen suggested mischievously.

"There was one more person who asked to be here, do you mind if Harry calls him?" Severus asked politely.

"Is he a threat?" someone asked.

"That depends on how you classify the personification of Death," Harry answered with a harsh bitter bark of laughter that made most of them flinch. "Even if you said no I don't really have a choice in calling him or not. I think he just asked me to introduce him to be polite.... or they're playing a prank on me."

"Now, master that's hardly a nice thing to say," Death chided in obvious amusement as he faded out of the shadows. Tall, thin, pale skinned, dark brown hair, with near black eyes, and dressed in a dapper striped suit swinging an umbrella he looked like a stern business man. It was only when you looked him directly in the eye that you saw his power leaking out and you knew that he could disappear into complete normality without a trace.

Harry's face palm was the perfect tension break and had more than one of the children giggling at his response.

"He called you master...." a second voice pointed out hesitantly.

"I _accidentally_ collected certain magical artifacts while trying to stay alive in the previous timeline and had the right bloodline to take on a special magical title," Harry informed them flatly, refusing to elaborate further.

"What he isn't telling you is that he had to die several times to earn the title and I had to choose to bring him back each time," Death told them with a dark chuckle. "Not an impossible task but hardly easy."

"Can we start 'rom the begin'ng?" a little voice asked seriously. "I want to know the w'ole story!"

"Certainly little one. Watch," Death said with a kind chuckle before making a gesture and conjuring enough chairs for everyone, much to the delight of the children. The adults mostly stood stock still in shock until the Queen gave a chuckle and made her way over to a seat, quickly joined by everyone else. The three chairs set in front of and facing the rest were obviously for Harry and his husbands. Death opted to stand behind Harry, his support for the small wizard clear.

"Start at the beginning," the Queen instructed. So Harry did, starting from his earliest memories and moving through his Hogwarts years until he got to where the old timeline split from their current one.

"In the first timeline... I landed in the graveyard with Cedric, who died because of the spell that Wormtail cast. The same one that didn't kill me when I was a baby. My blood was taken to make a new body for Voldemort, and it worked. The timelines split at the moment he stood up in what was left of the cauldron. The first time I had to watch as scary people in masks and robes were called and told they had disappointed Voldemort because they didn't try to help him when he was hurt and didn't have a body," Harry was careful to keep everything told in such a way as to be a fun story for the children but the dead serious look in his eye clearly told the adults he was being completely serious about every word chosen and spoken.

Harry proceeded to tell them about what happened all the way up to the final duel in the courtyard of Hogwarts, taking great pains to explain what he understood about each situation and what made it the way it was. He answered questions as best he could, especially for the children so they would understand why some things were important, emphasizing that he didn't know a lot of these things at the time. Then he came to the duel and the deal.

"I had just killed Voldemort when suddenly things were frozen all around me. I had no idea what was going on and it really freaked me out to see a young adult Tom Riddle standing over Voldemort's body. I noticed three other people who I quickly found out were Death, Lady Magic, and Lady Fate. I asked if I was dead and they thought it was funny. Next I was told about the deal that Voldemort had asked for. You see his mind had been very sick for a very long time and when he died the sickness went away. He realized what he had done and asked to make it right. We were given special conditions for the chance to fix all of the death, horror, hate, and misunderstandings. We would be required to give up or do special things to pay for the chance to make it all better or at least not let it be all horrible again," Harry explained horsely, his voice disappearing. Severus sighed and gently stopped him from talking, giving him a throat soother to help fix the damage to his throat from talking too much.

Voldemort quickly took up the narrative. "Once we accepted the deal, without remembering to ask for the full terms I was immediately sent back, creating the new timeline, this timeline. Both Severus and Harry continued on in the first timeline until much later. One of the requirements for the deal was applied in the original timeline, Harry was forced into the position of being the king of all magical beings. They tell me that something went wrong, revealing magic, and a nightmare of a war broke out."

"I survived the final battle and we had peace for barely a year until someone caught us on a cell phone camera. Overnight the witch burnings had begun again, more vicious and terrifying than ever before. We were treated as animals with no rights, an infestation that merely looked human. Naturally, we fought back as those without magic sought to kill us all. The ancient manors were prime targets whenever they were found as were muggleborn children... and Hogwarts," Severus told them, grief clear in his voice.

"I tried for peace so many times, only Severus' insistence that I include the caveat that we were free to defend ourselves if the muggles struck first saved any of us. It kept us from being required to allow ourselves be slaughtered by any muggle that had a mind to hurt us, releasing our people from the magical peace contract. Pulling the bodies of friends and family from rubble became a common occurrence. I broke down after the third failed treaty and changed the laws on what magics were legal. Up until that point most of our truly offensive magics were still illegal as a courtesy to the sensibilities of those raised among the non-magical. By that point it had turned from a war for recognition as people to a blood feud and a war for survival," Harry told them sadly. "The war ended... horribly. The planet was dying when Severus was sent back and I got a further update to my memories."

"One of the first things we did after our memories were updated in the graveyard was return to an unblemished Hogwarts and try to establish a truce between the Dark and Light factions. Dumbledore interfered and attempted to trap us on the grounds along with everyone else who heard what we had to say. That was foiled through the fact that both Harry and I are heirs of two of the founders of Hogwarts. The next thing we did was find a place to sleep for the night, going to Gringotts the next morning so that we would know what resources we had to work with," Voldemort summarized with a wry smirk. "The eventually led to the incident with delivering the blanket and containing the cursed vase. It took us some time to recover from that and then we had to deal with the Wizengamot, your adoption of Harry, and the trials of both Dumbledore and the Dursleys. All of which ended a few days ago. Between then and now... we accidentally got married using what I believe to be a very old magic and I conceived our first child. My magic is strong enough to let us know almost immediately."

"Baby? You gonna have a baby?" little eyes were wide and squeals of delight echoed around the room. The youngest of the Windsor family had understood well before this that Harry was a new family member and that he really liked Severus and Voldemort in a kissing kind of way.

"Since this entire meeting has been going out live are there any further important questions to be answered?" Death answered with an evil yet playful cackle. Harry just face palmed again before taking advantage of Death being in physical form and reaching back to smack his arm.

"Your position in the throne's succession?" someone near the back asked.

"Last.... except for the magical throne and thus the magical people. You have to have magic to qualify for that. According to the goblins before I was adopted your family was suffering under a curse and a... disconnect from the land and its natural magic. My adoption apparently fixed that and I immediately qualified as the heir to the magical throne. At the moment Queen Elizabeth technically still holds that throne as the reigning monarch. Until she decides to step down or bestow that throne upon me it will remain in her hands," Harry explained quickly. "She would not have had the magical crown's authority to do anything without magic except for being able to demand an audience with the Wizengamot and apparently make everyone in the ministry kneel to her. From what I understand of it the old magic connected to it relies on the correct bloodline and the correct words to invoke it."

Fawkes chose that moment to arrive in a burst of flame and enchanting music before settling on Harry's shoulder and attempting to clean his hair like a hatchling.

"Fawkes!" Harry protested with a deep blush much to the joy of the children.

"What's this then?" the elderly Prince Charles asked in a healthy mixture or wariness and curiosity.

"This is Fawkes, he's a phoenix. I'm pretty sure he belongs to the school since I always saw him in Dumbledore's office and he saved my life after the Basilisk bit me in second year," Harry explained. "They're really powerful but also sort of shy. If they sense you have bad intentions they don't usually stick around and if you feel bad enough to them they might try to chase you away from someone who is pure, innocent, and/or young. Generally, they don't interact much with humans of any kind unless they decide a particular human will make a good companion and decide to adopt that person. There are some really neat magical creatures but just like with muggle... non-magical animals they often have defenses that can be deadly. We have a classification system that shows how dangerous something is to the average wizard. Anything marked as X or XX should be mostly alright for muggles to interact with but XXX and up is going to be a bit on the dangerous side. XXXXX are known wizard killers and are impossible to tame but XXXX are alright for an expert in magical creatures to work with."

"For example Red Caps, Winged Horses, Leprechauns, Crups, and Hippogriffs are all considered to be XXX. While Unicorns, Centaurs, Merpeople, Yeti, Kappa, Griffins, and Phoenixes are all XXXX," Severus elaborated, amused over Harry's segue into magical creatures. "Some are only considered _creatures_ because they rejected the being status when certain other species were granted it. Centaurs for example wanted nothing to do with Hags due to their... dietary choices, for which I completely sympathize."

"Certain species are essentially killed on sight because of how dangerous they are or how valuable as potions ingredients," Voldemort added. "The Basilisk that Harry killed would have won him billions of galleons had he known that it could be harvested as potions ingredients and contacted someone to harvest it for him. Basilisks are killed primarily because of the danger they pose to anyone who can not speak parseltongue, the serpent tongue, but are still insanely high value as potions ingredients since their natural magic gives special qualities to their parts. Certain XXXXX creatures, such as dragons, are interacted with via trained specialists but many of the specialists die each year because of one thing or another. Other XXXXX creatures have enough intelligence and enough common symbolism in their communication methods that we have managed some form of treaty with them."

"Before you mutter about Dementors, my little master, they now answer solely to you and I," Death interjected with obvious amusement. "They are usually only sent after idiots who've managed some sort of immortality and are mucking things up badly enough for the creator to get annoyed at them... or those meddling in Demonic magics and Necromancy. If you had allowed Necromancy they would have been very busy with their feast of fools. They also hunt those who feast on Unicorns."

"I still don't like them," Harry muttered grumpily. Fawkes crooned comfortingly at him, soothing the intense dislike until Harry was relaxed into a near puddle of wizard goo in his chair.

"Some magical creatures earn their ranking because they don't let wizards tame them easily despite being relatively gentle beings. Also, about the Unicorns? Unless the material is willingly given the horn, blood, hair, what-have-you generally carries a curse for defiling something so pure. Its something I rather look forwards to helping to enforce at times because if someone is willing to harm a unicorn than they'd likely do worse to a child," Death said casually, stroking Harry's hair like a proud father. Harry didn't notice but nearly everyone else, barring the children, understood the message perfectly.

"I think that's enough for the day. Should anyone like to send a letter to my youngest, Prince Harry, either label it to be delivered via Gringotts bank or Buckingham Palace," the Queen announced decidedly.

Death chuckled before scooping up his master and his growing family, completely ignoring the very vocal protests by Voldemort and Severus before disappearing into the shadows. They landed in their own bedroom, on the bed next to one another. There were some grumbles but they generally gave up and cuddled up together to take a nap. It had been a very exhausting day.


	27. Rebellion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 4th everyone!  
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

The response to the interview from both magical and muggle sides was staggering. It didn't help that Death had arranged for it to be aired live on the Wizarding Wireless at the same time as it went out on the muggle TV and radio. Since they hadn't gotten around to discussing any policy decisions there were a lot of general questions about magic, magical creatures, muggleborns, and the laws governing magical/muggle interactions. There were some inquiries from the goblins and various potions masters about the dead basilisk. Those inquires forced Severus to explain that the carcass was probably still good because of how much magic was an integral part of the creature, completely aside from the probable preservation charms down in the Chamber of secrets. They made arrangements to potentially harvest and sell what remained of the corpse through the goblins.

The attack from a combined force of Hit Wizards, Unspeakables, and Aurors came within a week of the interview. The front of the goblin provided dwelling was utterly destroyed within seconds. The assault group barely got a few steps into the house before the combined force of the trio's magic being released slammed into them, locking them in place.

"You dare attack us in our own home?!" Voldemort snarled, completely in furious Dark Lord mode, angry husbands right behind him.

"Orders," someone choked out near the back of the group.

"Whose?" Harry snarled, just as furious as his husband. No answer was forthcoming.

"Very well, this attack counts as treason in both worlds. Our laws regarding treason have you each receiving the kiss after a year in Azkaban following having your magic ripped out of you having watched the same treatment to your families from eldest to infant. If a child is not spoken for they also receive the same as the rest of the family. If they are spoken for the blood adoption is immediately granted and all assets immediately fall to the ministry as compensation," Severus informed them coldly. "I wonder how many families are represented here?"

"Or my little master could use his rights as the rightful heir to the magical crown and force it out of them," Death chuckled darkly as he appeared from the shadows at Harry's side, causing him to jump.

"You _really_ want me to have a heart attack don't you?" Harry said resentfully, his anger still boiling just beneath the surface.

"Umbridge, Delores Umbridge and Fudge counter signed the order. No one except the leader of each faction was informed. There were also signatures from several Wizengamot members," the lead Unspeakable finally admitted. He wasn't stupid enough to think they'd have succeeded but he'd also realized that if they didn't at least try there was a good chance that they would have been subjected to that exact same punishment under the table.

"You didn't want to actually attack us... there was no finesse, no planning, and the damage is actually fairly minimal if impressive when looked at..." Voldemort said with dawning comprehension.

"What?" Harry asked, confused on how blowing away half the house was minimal damage.

"The wards aren't torn away and if even half of them had thrown blasting charms we would have needed to use our own magic to protect ourselves. Most of the front of the house is the entry hall and parlors to either side, places that would be empty at this time of night," Severus deduced, finally thinking about the attack pattern its self. Harry mentally ran the numbers and came up with the exact same thing.

"So... they're just following the orders of idiots to keep said idiots from trying this sort of thing against them and their families. We proved the other day that we can mostly take care of ourselves. Death wouldn't have been pleased if one of use died but someone must have thought of that or at least of how pissed the other two of us would have been. It woke us up but didn't hurt us," Harry concluded as his anger found a more appropriate target and Death faded away with a malicious chuckle.

"Apparently, we should have considered removing them earlier," Severus said sourly.

"She did crucio me and forced more than half the school into using blood quills in detention that year," Harry said with a scowl. "Then there's the mess Fudge made."

"We could offer them clemency and protection if they swear service to our Harry," Voldemort suggested thoughtfully as he watched their attackers shivering under the force of their combined magic.

"Then their families could come after us in revenge. I won't accept it unless they swear their bloodlines to service," Severus said stubbornly. "We have a baby on the way and the shock of the attack could have put the little one at risk, even with their attempts to mitigate the damage."

There were several loud gulps at this news. None of them had thought about the baby growing inside Voldemort when they planned the attack. The feral look that Harry and Voldemort gained said that they'd momentarily forgotten about it until Severus had mentioned the possibility of loosing the baby. Harry's hands started to glow with power. Voldemort's own hands dropped protectively to his still flat belly as he scooted behind his husbands, glaring at their attackers.

There was a frantic scramble for wands, which were as yet unconfiscated, while the leaders bought them time to formulate the proper vows.

"We'll swear!" the lead Unspeakable said hastily. "Just give us a moment to figure out the wording!"

"No one told us there was a baby involved," one Auror hissed to another.

"No one told us who we were attacking either," a Hit Wizard hissed back. "We were just told to make sure everyone who fought back wound up dead."

"My lord? May I respectfully submit that most of us did not know who lived here," Dawlish pointed out cautiously, making doubly sure to bare his marked arm to prove he was a Death Eater. "I would like to respectfully request time for I and my fellows to come up with an appropriate vow to that effect. This would also give us time to create a vow of service for those who are not already sworn to you or your husbands."

"I knew it! He's one of yours," Harry said scowling but the power that had been making his hands glow ever brighter was abruptly gone. He sulked a bit, never moving from protectively standing in front of his pregnant husband.

"He made enough trouble for you in the other timeline," Severus hummed in agreement, relaxing a bit at the unexpected presence of back up and equally unexpected cooperation.

The vow was quickly made and sworn by everyone present. Surprisingly, each and everyone of them felt their vow of service to the ministry and the magic holding the Unspeakables silent fall away as their allegiance officially shifted. Death's echoing gleeful laughter told them that he probably had a hand in this. Rather than worry about it Harry made the new group of minions fix the house before ordering them home to tell their families about their new status and to inform him when they were ready to work. Plans were made to have them help with the muggleborn information and integration that had begun with the revelation of magic during the interview.


	28. Arrival of the DA: The Forgotten Resource

"What are we going to do about this?" Harry asked his husbands almost the moment they were back in their room after seeing the new minions off.

"We would need to see the official order. Depending upon when it was signed and the justification given we may have to cast our net very wide to catch everyone," Voldemort said grimly. He hadn't fought at all when his husbands had bundled him up into the bed only to settle around him and begin to protectively cuddle him before a word was spoken.

"Is the baby alright?" Harry asked in a very vulnerable tone. Severus and Voldemort immediately extended their magic, alongside Harry's, to check the baby even though they'd already checked twice and allowed one of the new minions with a Medi-witch license to check. Like every previous check they found nothing wrong with the baby or Voldemort.

"Baby and papa are fine," Severus breathed.

"When we have them all..." Voldemort grumbled.

"Yes, you can go all dark lordy as long as the magic won't hurt the baby," Harry agreed with the unspoken threat. Children were always something he fought the hardest to protect, no matter how many times it killed him literally and figuratively.

"I want to remove Fudge and Umbridge now but that will leave the rest of the rats free to find a sewer to hide in," Severus hissed angrily, clutching his husbands close.

"We could send them back to work, instruct them to claim it was a training run for the upcoming order, see if the idiots try to rescind it or force the issue," Harry said, eyes narrowed in thought. "Its not like its been that long since our change in status was publicized."

"That still leaves us at risk," Voldemort pointed out softly.

"We can have the goblins update the wards to something akin to a fortress. All three of us are skilled duelers and as long as we don't separate we'll have a better chance of fighting off anyone stupid enough to try this again," Severus suggested, a rumble of anger aimed from deep within his chest at anyone threatening his family.

That's right about when Dobby popped in with Luna.

"Luna?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Hi Harry. Sorry to interrupt but the ministry is arresting everyone I've been gathering for you," Luna said with an exhausted smile before passing out. Severus caught her befor she could hit the floor and quickly levitated her onto the bed between them.

"She's exhausted and has been hit with multiple Auror level curses. If what she said was true it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for them to have made a simultaneous attack," Severus growled worriedly.

"But she's been safe at Hogwarts. Who would be stupid enough to attack _Hogwarts_? No, offense love," Harry said, his apology waved away by Voldemort.

There was a loud pop from down stairs which Harry immediately went to go check only to find that Dobby had brought a decent sized group of students, many of whom were injured.

"Harry!" Fred and George exclaimed, popping their heads out of the crowd.

"Fred? George? What's going on?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Someone at the ministry has gone _mental_. We were meeting in the Defense club that Lovegood arranged. She said that she was teaching us the way she remembers the first DA. We got jumped by Auror's of all people on the school grounds," Draco complained.

Harry blinked in surprise and then took another look at the group. It was an even mix of all houses and most of them were powerful or especially skilled at something. The first aid being administered to everyone by their fellows told him that Luna wasn't just getting them caught up in defense but thinking ahead to the inevitable injuries as well.

"Dobby is exhausted but Harry Potter's guard is here and the bad wizards will not touch Harry Potter's family," Dobby said triumphantly from near Harry's feet.

"Thank you Dobby... what is the ritual to bind a house elf to a family?" Harry asked, choking a bit.

"Dobby is only knowing that the elf must ask to serve the wizard. The wizard will accept or decline the bonding," Dobby said hopefully. "Is... May Dobby serve Harry Potter sir as his elf?!"

"Yes, Dobby, yes," Harry said softly. The bond snapped into place as a brief pattern flashed over Dobby's skin, his naturally open core revitalizing as he once more became bonded to a powerful wizard line.

"Thank you!" Dobby cried, throwing himself into Harry's side and driving the air from the wizard's lungs.

Kreacher popped into the room screeching about bad elves and dirty half bloods until he noticed the feel of Harry's magic and promptly shut up.

"Youse... youse honor the traditions of the House of Black?" Kreacher asked in awe. Harry shrugged, trying to hide his confusion.

"I know I'm related to the Blacks through my paternal grandmother but I was never taught the traditions so I don't know if I'm following them or not," Harry admitted.

Kreacher blinked in surprise, considered the answer and nodded slowly in acceptance. "Kreacher will accept you as master over bad Sirius who is gone now. Can Kreacher finally remove filthy traitors from the honorable House of Black?"

"Sure but I want the house cleaned up in case we need to move in," Harry said with a startled blink. A pop and the insane elf was gone, his bond with Harry no longer being fought.

"I can't believe you! You do know that Dobby is insane?" Draco pointed out incredulously.

"Yeah but if you handle him right he's... less erratic, same with Kreacher. Now, tell me why you all came here and if everyone got out?" Harry asked attentively, confident in his husbands' ability to protect themselves in their bedroom.

"Everyone got out but..." Fred started.

"But we saw some of Dumbledore's people in among the Aurors that attacked us and a bunch of teachers were unconscious just outside the meeting place when the protective wards we'd set up finally came down," George explained for his brother.

"They took out McGonagall and Flitwick," Fred agreed solemnly.

"Right.... Dobby set everyone up with a bed and food. I'll ask Severus if we can raid his potions stores. We'll sort it out further in the morning but I want it understood that everyone is safe here, alright?" Harry informed them. There was a general round of agreement before he went to fetch his snarky husband so they could patch everyone back together.


	29. Breakfast War Council

"Do you find your guard acceptable?" Luna asked airily as she breezed into the breakfast room the next morning. She was with the rest of rescuees as they all pitched in to setting up the table for breakfast before sitting down. Kreacher and Dobby didn't disappoint, serving breakfast once everyone was seated.

"Luna, dear, do I really need a _guard_?" Harry asked in obvious amusement as he served himself from the various nearby platters. He had talked to her last night before they went back to bed and discovered that she had two sets of memories and one set matched the original timeline until her death. She was a seer but she was also like him and his husbands. It made Harry suspicious that Death, Fate, and Hecate were gathering his true family and sending them back to him one by one.

"You will when the babies start coming," Luna informed him, her ditzy persona falling away to reveal the hardened warrior she had become in the first time line. "Harry James Potter, I will not loose you. If I have to explain that again I will find a way to seal you and your husbands together in a safe house for a month while I run the magical world and then subject you to the displeasure of Minerva, Narcissa, and Molly. If you are very naughty I'll be certain to add Bellatrix and Poppy to the list."

Harry shuddered and meekly returned to his breakfast, knowing full well that she was absolutely serious about her threat. Severus and Voldemort snickered at his misfortune until Luna turned a dangerous glower on them, promising retribution if they continued. They too returned to their breakfast with much snickering in turn by the DA.

"So... why were we attacked? I thought the war was over with what happened to Dumbledore and Harry's adoption and all," Fred asked the room at large.

"I was the main target. Someone squealed about my seer status and the fact that I was acting with intimate knowledge of the new Harry," Luna answered before taking a sip of her tea. "Fudge and the Unspeakables have decided it would be a good thing to know how you think and if possible turn you into a captive experiment."

"Lovely!" Harry growled moodily. He hated winding up dead repeatedly for no reason, as was proven in the previous timeline by various assassination attempts. It was also exactly what would happen if the Unspeakables got ahold of him.... again. "Alright, to protect Severus, Voldemort, and the baby."

"The baby, neither I nor Severus need constant supervision nor are we still mortal as Death so kindly pointed out," Voldemort countered pointedly. Before Harry could try to counter the argument Luna silenced him with a spell, smiling widely.

"Certainly, your Darkness," Luna agreed amiably, having no intention what so ever to let either man wander around without someone as back up. "We'll retrieve Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick once breakfast is done. They are probably getting very tired of their illegal imprisonment at the Ministry."

"Yes, Luna," Harry said in a resigned tone, breaking the silencing charm with an absent thought.

Normally, he had no trouble standing up to anyone, male or female but when particular people in his life that he cared about started ganging up on him... Well he had a much harder time standing his ground when that happened in part because he _knew_ that they were trying their hardest to keep him alive and sane. Not that this stopped him from finding loop holes when he needed them or finding himself in trouble that he didn't start.

"Kreacher? Dobby?" Harry called. He had a sudden idea but needed to know a few things before trying to make it work.

The two house elves popped in and looked at him expectantly, neither overly excited nor scornful of their master.

"I need to know if the two of you can get into the Ministry cells. The idiots who have decided I need to be turned into a captive experiment grabbed two my allies," Harry explained succinctly.

"Dobby doesn't know. Dobby is... young," Dobby admitted sheepishly. Kreacher on the other hand got a crafty look in his eye.

"Kreacher knows but Kreacher thinks master needs family teaching. Will Kreacher's master accept teaching?" Kreacher asked softly.

"Me not knowing the Black traditions really bothers you that much?" Harry asked in open curiosity. "I never had any training beyond what was taught at Hogwarts and whatever else I successfully scrambled to learn while we were at open war with the muggles in the other timeline."

"Master never...?" Kreacher squeaked in obvious dismay. Dobby twisted his floppy ears fretfully, equally upset.

"Dumbledore, who is now our enemy, was the one to hide Harry away and choose what he was to learn. He has never been instructed on anything which is his birthright, Potter or Black or even that of his Mother's muggle family. Those who took care of him were family by blood but treated him as a house elf who has disgraced their family and harmed one of their wizards intentionally," Severus explained carefully, much to Harry's discomfort. The shear horrified understanding from both elves made Harry wonder if he should try to protest the discription but he wasn't exactly sure what it all entailed.

"And I carry his heir," Voldemort offered softly. His hand drifted to hover over his belly where the baby was growing.

"Wait, those rumors about being raised by muggles and living in a cupboard were real?" Draco demanded in shock.

"We had to rescue him from them so that he could attend his second year," George confirmed grimly.

"We tried to tell mum and dad but they wouldn't listen," Fred added glumly.

"We caught Dumbledore soothing mum about it later, promising that we were exaggerating," George informed them all angrily.

"Enough," Severus ordered softly, noticing how much the discussion topic was bothering Harry. "The matter has either been addressed for the most part and we have more pressing issues at the moment."

"Yes, Professor," chorused from most of the table. Though Draco sent a look at the twins that told everyone that the discussion wasn't over by a long shot.

"Elvesies can be getting Master Harry's allies if allies in the right cells. If in wrong cells elvesies have trouble getting Master's allies," Kreacher informed him.

"So we might have to go get them ourselves and if the elves can get them they may find a way to block that later," Voldemort said thoughtfully.

"Go check to see where Filius Flitwick and Minerva McGonagall were placed. If you can tell them without giving yourselves away I want them to know help is coming. I never want to relive what happened to them in the last timeline," Harry growled out, dismissing the elves to their tasks. Pops were heard as the duo obeyed, leaving the humans to their breakfast.

"Do we try this legally? Retrieve them directly? Or try something else?" Severus asked with a frown of concern.

"I'm not sure honestly. We have already been outed, so they can't use the secrecy laws against us and this was not only a really bad time for Fudge to make a move but a really stupid one as well. We may have gotten Dumbledore judged and removed but that didn't do the same to his support base, though the blow to his reputation probably put a dent in it," Harry said thoughtfully.

"They are guilty of treason regardless, or at least conspiracy to commit treason," Voldemort pointed out.

"Yes, nasty punishments all around," Harry agreed with a grimace of distaste. He hated doling out those kinds of punishments but couldn't argue they were warranted in this case.

"The Professors need to be retrieved today. So far everyone is either in shock over the big reveal or hasn't decided what to do about it yet. We may also be facing a major natural disaster soon that everyone will need to help deal with. I can't promise anything about the disaster since there are factors that could change it or make it go away," Luna warned. She took a sip of her hot chocolate as everyone processed that and the meal was magically cleared away.

"That's... not good," Harry said warily.

"It will be worse if the three of you are captured," Luna said in a soft sad voice.

"Let me guess they are effectively our Royal family and thus subject to the same kidnapping and assassination risks as other monarchs but its worse because of Dumbledore's trial and the royal blood adoption?" Draco asked with a scowl.

"There are other reasons as well but yes," Luna conceded before summarizing everything again for the DA members out of the loop. "Harry's claim to royal blood not only comes from the blood adoption in front of the Wizengamot but also another bloodline called the Golden line. There is also the official declaration of Fate, Death, and Magic both before their time traveling deal and at Dumbledore's trial. This gives them greater legitimacy than most who come to rule. If we loose them... well a _good_ out come is simply war between the magical and the mundane. I won't voice a bad outcome to keep Mr. Murphy from playing an especially nasty prank on all of us."

Everyone pondered that for a moment before buckling down and discussing what needed to be done to retrieve the two teachers.


	30. Pack Out

"You listed Molly and Bella... why? I understand Poppy with how often that witch has had to put me back together over the years in both timelines but Molly and Bella?" Harry asked Luna softly as the group prepared to descend upon the ministry. The plan was mostly to wing it (much to the disgust of Harry's husbands) but the first step regardless of anything else was to distract most of the ministry employees with a ruckus in the Atrium. Distracting people was something over half of the DA was rather good at judging by the various pranks most of them had played in one way or another over the years at Hogwarts.

"Bella will be joining us soon and Molly... Molly will have one last chance to choose you over Dumbledore. After that she will either be with us or will try to kill both you and the baby," Luna said sadly. "Mostly I added her because she was one of the people who could get you to eat the last time through."

"And Ginny? Ron? Arthur? Hermione?" Harry asked softly. Luna just gave him a sad smile before shooing him off in the direction of his husbands. He figured that the answer was either bad or depended on Molly's choice, neither possibility was comforting.

"Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever understand Luna or if I'll just give up trying to maintain my sanity," Harry muttered to his husbands. Everyone else was doing final checks on their gear and supplies or saying good bye to the members staying to protect Severus and Voldemort. No one wanted a repeat of the previous ambush.

The twins had begged for permission to prank the idiots who had attacked when Harry had slipped and told everyone about it. Luna had redirected the duo by pointing out the people who had ordered the attack would likely get hit when the distraction went off. She had also suggested putting the two redheads in charge of raiding the records room so that they would have the name of the idiots who gave the attack order and thus a target painted on their backs.

"I hate letting you go haring off without _something_ protecting you. I've guarded you too long to be comfortable with this," Severus fretted. He was standing next to a much calmer, if still worried, Voldemort who's hands had drifted to hover protectively over the growing baby in his belly. "Your immortality doesn't count brat so don't try to argue with me about it and the others don't even have their NEWTs!"

"You are a much better duelist than I am, my lovely potions master. Our baby could cripple our Dark Lord here in a fight and it would kill me to lose either of you if only for a moment, not to mention that the baby wouldn't come back when Voldemort woke from death. Besides, you both know how I am, diving in head first with my Gryffindor impulsiveness. At least this time I will have people guarding my back and making sure I get out of the trouble I will be starting," Harry soothed with a gentle impish smile. "All we are going to do is act like children pulling pranks. This is not the first time I have had to direct students in a potentially dangerous action, not to mention that you were there as I made absolutely sure that they knew what they were leaping into this time. If the plan fails I will send them all back, rip through the wards, overpower a couple of different shield spells and pull them out by brute force."

"I still don't like it," Severus grumped, begrudgingly admitting in his mind that their brat had a point and the raw power to pull off the back up plan if it came down to it.

"Harry is a magical tank," George snickered with his twin.

Harry whipped around to stare at the redheads in shock. The apt phrase had been coined among the magical forces when Harry had gone head to head against a set of actual tanks and come out the winner. No one knew that his rage at the tanks tearing apart one of the camps filled with rescued children from both sides had kept him on his feet and kicked his magical healing into super Wolverine level overdrive. He had been throwing up bullets for two weeks after that on top of his magic assimilating a good chunk of them as bone coating just like Wolverine had. Severus and Poppy had decided that Harry had done it all subconsciously at the time and very carefully spent two weeks removing it. They had found afterwards that the metal had been infused with the Basilisk Venom and Phoenix Tears that lingered in his blood from the time in second year when he had been bitten. The goblin smiths were delighted to get the material and turn it into weapons.

"At our request we shared our full memories after restoration," Fred explained. "We are Gemini, one soul in two bodies. Sharing our memories like that re-stabilized our twin bond and allowed us to once more be whole."

"The two of you don't let our brat out of your sight. Is that perfectly clear?" Severus growled. They both nodded heartfelt agreement, earning a dry look from Harry. The spy relaxed marginally to the knowledge that his brat would have at least two veteran Lieutenants at his back to guard him if things went bad.

"We need to chart when everyone is getting their memories back and how far they stretch," Harry said with a sigh. Five minutes later the portkey took the whole group into the Atrium at the Ministry only for them to discover chaos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm taking suggestions on the natural disaster and the muggles/fanatic idiots attacking!
> 
> This is what I have for notes on both, mind you some are _old_ notes:
> 
> -Segue from not so smooth reveal to knocking out tech? Magicals blamed for asteroid/solar flare that causes loss of tech?  
> -Simulate massive solar flare/end time asteroid effects? What happens when tech becomes useless? Accidentally caused by magic flare of some kind?  
> -tsunami? (cliffs/english channel/other islands may pose problem)  
> -ridiculously strong earthquake? series of earthquakes? (unlikely)  
> -tornado/hurricane? (unlikely - cliffs pose potential problem)  
> -Pettigrew shows up/escapes from Ministry/Azkaban? Manages to kidnap Harry for Dumbles? Spy for Dumbles? Harry/Sev/Voldy kills Pettigrew?  
> -random people attacking? police stations attacked? anyone strange attacked?  
> -royal family or at least Harry attacked? Sev attacked? Voldy attacked? baby?  
> -martial law? looting? riots? parliament attacked? tube/subway attacked?
> 
>  
> 
> Yes, I am aware that my brain is strange. I am also willing to expand various things if asked since I have to reign in my mad scientist/wizard frequently when writing anyway. Yes people my stories are the coherent, correlated, watered down versions of the insanity that is my brain, so feel free to ask questions, request things be worked into one of my stories (try to make such suggestions on the associated story so it doesn't get lost), or just point out I have screwed up the story and contradicted myself... again.
> 
> I am also taking suggestions on what they just walked into. *snicker* Enjoy speculating in the reviews!


	31. Beowulf's Bane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, I'm not dead. The muse is just flighty. Enjoy!  
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The chaos had been unexpected but the twins being used to Harry's insane luck immediately took advantage of it, quietly sending off the retrieval teams that Luna and Harry had picked out. Harry was kept in reserve partly because he was a powerhouse and partly because he was extremely noticeable due to his identity. If the teams didn't come back in a timely fashion or set off their recreated and slightly different DA coins turned jewelry Harry would come and get them while the rest of the group protected the retreat.

The sight of green clad healers sharply reminded Harry that both Ginny and Molly had supposedly been committed to St. Mungoes and the hands of the mind healers. He would have to ask the twins about that, Arthur, and their brothers. The fact that he had no clue what all was happening with the Weasley family really bothered him. Though Harry suspected that his husbands would still kill the Weasley females if they tried getting close to him, mind healer treatments or no.

He rather missed Ron and Hermione but it would be a blessing not to wake them with the memories from the other timeline. Their deaths had been anything but clean and had briefly crippled him with grief that only Severus had managed to break through. A fleeting thought to Fate, Death, and Magic begged for the two to be left alone without the other memories. For a response he felt the chains of the deal lock down further on him, binding him more firmly to his path.

The extraction went fairly smooth until Harry figured out exactly why the Ministry was already in chaos. Something in the Department of Mysteries had woken and it was _hungry_.

"EVERYONE WHO CAN'T CAST THREE PATRONI IN QUICK SUCCESSION IS TO EVACUATE THE BUILDING _IMMEDIATELY_! SOMETHING GOT LOOSE FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF MYSTERIES!" Harry thundered, making good use of a sonorous charm. The immediate exodus ignored Harry's group as each of those remaining behind formed up around him.

"Harry?" Fred asked for orders warily.

"We thought about using it in the last timeline but the muggles captured it first. It wiped out most of Russia before it could be stopped but it bought us six months of shocked peace and a short cease fire. The reason I required being able to cast the Patronus three times very fast is power level and the patroni will help us contain it. I don't know what exactly the damn thing is but its _old_. We need to get out of here but if we let the damn thing loose it will destroy London and most of the developed, not to mention people heavy, areas around it," Harry warned. He was dropping every single spell he held and allowing his magic to flood the area.

"Its a Moor-Stepper. More specifically Grendel from the Beowulf poem," an Unspeakable paused just long enough to explain before bolting.

"I thought that thing was dead, killed by Beowulf," George muttered to his brother who nodded his grim agreement. The last of the escaping ministry people rushed past the rescue group without looking back.

"Right, new plan. Grab the professors and high-tail it out of here. We can offer the fight to the goblins as a chance for their warriors to see battle," Harry said decidedly. "That thing is out of league and I don't want it pulling power or memories from anyone."

No one argued and aside from the party assigned to guard the atrium they practically bolted through the ministry. The wards shifted unexpectedly just as the retrieval teams were either pulling the Professors from their cells or snagging the incriminating attack records. This sent the Atrium group as a whole flying down empty corridor after empty corridor to be dumped into the Department of Mysteries The hand carved stone room they arrived in was something they barely noticed due to the heap of limbs and quiet curses they formed upon landing. Harry was the first to struggle free. The moment his eyes landed on a carving he froze, locked in a memory from the previous timeline.

> _  
> **~ Flashback ~** _
> 
> _"This is what the Unspeakables said could help," an exhausted Hermione explained. Everyone could see she was bone tired. They had lost Ron less than 12 hours ago and Harry had been pulled from one of the first children's rescue camps to see what had been found._
> 
> _"What is it 'Mione?" Harry asked curiously, tired and sore but less melancholy than three hours before. The children had anchored and refreshed him nicely._
> 
> _Harry was sad that Ron was gone but proud of what he had managed to accomplish with his determination before his death. Shielding an entire region from radiation poisoning via an atmosphere detonated atomic bomb was no small feat. Even if he had to absorb every last speck of radiation into himself to make it work. It had been torture to watch him turn into a solid radioactive statue. He had been spitting up glowing blood and screaming as he died even as his eyes begged Harry to finish getting rid of the threat he had become. Harry, grieving, had obeyed and portkeyed his friend's body into space on a course for the sun._
> 
> _"This will let us find everyone of magical heritage under a certain age even if the magic is too weak to manifest or is bound or sleeping. If we adjust it we will only be told if the magic is awake enough to be noticed, squib level at minimum, but we can include any age range. This will, if used correctly, help us find the camps and labs to rescue people from," Hermione explained tiredly._
> 
> _"We can't let them have this..." Harry said firmly._
> 
> _"I know but there are very specific requirements to use it... or destroy it. The destruction will also act like a Hydrogen bomb... but it will be **worse** than Hiroshima. The blast would **sterilize** the British Ilse 30 meters below the surface past the heaviest wards that exist. That's getting through every single ward we could have even thought to toss up plus 30 meters of **solid rock**. The goblins might have something deep enough to survive but it will travel an additional 70 meters minimum past any doors or wards no matter how thick. They haven't been able to date it beyond incredibly old," Hermione told them, beginning to sway on her feet._
> 
> _"Destruction requirements?" Harry asked, subdued._
> 
> _"A dark magic ritual honoring one of the old gods that opposed the god of the Jews, the Christian God of all, and lost. Ba'al wants nearly 500 children no older than 5 sacrificed on it to break the basic protections and at least 700 under the age of 15 to destroy it fully without consequences. To simply lock the use to a single bloodline it needs a single drop of blood from whoever is taking charge of it. The catch is that whoever bonds with it will feel the death of anyone of magical blood under the age of 16," Hermione told him even as her wavering legs forced one of her assistants to catch her and hold her upright._
> 
> _Harry swallowed hard and before anyone could stop him gave the carved stone monolith a couple of drops of his blood._
> 
> _"Harry you **idiot**!" Hermione started crying as Harry adjusted to the sense of so many magicals in existence and breathed through the pain that came with it. Each disappearance of a young magical life from his senses stabbed like a spike of ice. He would only have this strange sense for a few months as the muggles found the monolith and managed to break it with a mix of C4 and pure sulfur to blast then burn the remnants safely. It became one of the few times he was happy that one of their dwindling magical resources was destroyed._
> 
> _**~ End Flashback ~**  
>  _

  
"Shit! We're going to have to destroy that thing again..." Harry swore, cursing all his luck and glaring at the giant carved slab.

"Mr. Potter...?" McGonagall asked from her slumped and dirty position where she had landed not more than three feet away.

"Not now Miss, Kitty," Fred scolded quietly, earning an affronted look from the animagus but also silencing the woman.

"Fred, George, make a note. This thing needs to be destroyed using C4 and then sulfur used on it to destroy it properly, without even a touch of magic involved," Harry ordered. Getting their verbal agreement without once looking away from the stone he magically sliced his palm, tossed some blood at the thing then turned away as he healed the cut. The moment the blood hit the slab he realized his mistake as he collapsed with a cry of pain. The panic in everyone's voice was drowned out only by Death's voice scolding him and breaking the connection just as he passed out.

The enervate 30 seconds later forced him back to consciousness with a gasp.

"Your hubby's are going to be right _pissed_ at you," George scolded as he helped Harry sit up.

"Er, sorry?" Harry gasped as he finally caught his breath. "Its not like it reacted like that last time!"

"Idiot!" Fred hissed, coming up behind them.

They heard a howl nearby that sent a chill down their spines, sending Harry off to swear like a sailor as he forced himself up and made everyone come close, grabbing him. His gaze met glowing poisonous yellow a split second before he apparated the entire group out of the ministry, passing out as he landed them in front of his husbands in their parlor.


	32. Passing the Torch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Musey is wanting to leave this fic so I did a small wrap up. I hope to eventually come back but you will have to settle for this for now. Enjoy!  
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What happened?!" Severus demanded, up off the couch they were waiting on in an instant with his wand out to defend or to heal depending on the arrivals.

"Harry did something _stupid_ is what!" Fred snarled as he and his twin gently lifted their adoptive little brother up from where he collapsed and placed him on a second couch.

"Forge, remember what he said about breaking that thing? Before he went and tried to bind it with his blood I mean? _C4 and Sulfur!_ There has to be more to it than we thought if he wants it gone even though we aren't at war!" George pointed out, pausing a moment to brush Harry's bangs out of his face.

"But why sulfur? I remember what C4 is, it always gives a nice boom," Fred asked, calming a bit now that they weren't in immediate danger.

"What would our husband want with _brimstone?_ " Voldemort scowled even as he hovered behind Severus while Harry was checked over and found only to be exhausted.

"We got dumped into the Department of Mysteries when trying to escape the ministry and whatever got loose there. Harry said something about sending the goblins after whatever it was and then we landed in front of this giant carved stone with weird people and creatures carved into it," Fred explained before handing off to his brother with a nod.

"Harry sort of froze when he saw it and then started muttering about needing to destroy it. He ordered us to do it with C4 and Sulfur later, made us promise, before tossing some of his blood at it. There was a surge of cold power as Harry started to fall, kind of like being near a Dementor,and he was out cold on the floor. We tossed an enervate at him then heard the roar of whatever was loose before he made everyone get near him and apperated everyone out through the wards," George explained. "Then we landed here and he passed out. Still, I'm glad he sent the elves ahead as scouts. We would have had a much harder time rescuing the Professors without knowing where we were going."

"Owww," Harry groaned as he brought himself back to consciousness, clutching at his suddenly throbbing head.

"Just like a Lion to jump in head first and need the plans of a Snake to rescue them," Severus said pointedly to his husband.

"Not now Sev, 'can scold later," Harry slurred as he fought with the headache that woke him up, something he _knew_ was backlash from the magic Death had unceremoniously severed. He must have really pissed off the entity or done something stupid with the attempted binding to have such a _splitting headache_ trying to rend his skull in two.

"That doesn't sound right," Voldemort pointed out, eyes narrowed in a mix of thought and concentration.

"Pissed 'ff M'rt," Harry muttered in pained effort.

"What did you _do_ to piss off _DEATH_?!" Severus demanded, eyes narrow in upset and nostrils flaring in temper at the risks his husband must have taken.

"Tried bind... stupid big tablet, finds magicals..." Harry admitted, still in obvious pain. "Work... last time."

"Worked _last time?!_ " Severus said ominously. Voldemort sighed and yanked the Potions Master closer to him so that he could cuddle their furious husband into a calmer mood.

"My _head_ ," Harry groaned.

"Magical backlash can do that to you, especially if you are rushed or had attempted something on the more powerful side that didn't take," Voldemort sighed, continuing to hug Severus and keeping him calm.

Severus on the other hand grumbled and growled. Even as he spelled an extra strength pain potion into their reckless husband he didn't pull away from the Dark Lord. Eventually he took pity on his husband and spelled a sleep potion into him to sleep out the magical backlash.

Harry dreamed. He dreamed of a time when hope still spotted the land ravaged by war. He dreamed of the looming darkness that threatened the children he collected and protected. He dreamed of comrades old and new fighting at his side. He dreamed of the magic. He dreamed of what was once to come and might come again. He dreamed of his children, both those lost to the other timeline and the little one Voldemort carried. He dreamed.

The power Harry let loose, seeping from his every pore as he slept saturated the house and everyone within it in protective power. It pulled his husbands closer to him, merging with their own cores. This grew their own magic power, nearly doubling it as they slept. The baby's magic formed almost instantly, months before the process should have even begun.

Everything was watched by three powerful beings that stalked the house that was completely unaware of their presence.

"Maybe this will give them happiness," Magic whispered in quiet glee to her fellows. Fate giggled in quiet agreement.

"As a gift why don't we deal with that stone and moor-walker?" Mort suggested.. "Some of his memories..."

"Yes, some of them might cause a few problems," Magic agreed with a touch of sadness.

"Don't loose heart. Until the Christ child returns we can only help them a bit. When our Lord returns we will have a thousand golden years to teach them and play," Fate consoled. "These three can anchor some of it until our lord returns and it can be properly fixed."

"I am simply glad that they were granted a pure child even in spite of our meddling," Mort reminded them in open amusement. "Come let us leave them to their happiness."

"Lets," Magic agreed as the trio slipped quietly from the house, leaving only a note to mark their passing. The household would be shocked come morning and Harry would have full control of the wizarding world by the time the baby was born. He would rule the magic users well with a happy life and family until the son of god returned to claim his own throne over man.

 

_**THE END!** _

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick reminder. If I haven't responded to your review, one of three things happened:  
> 1) I haven't seen it yet.  
> 2) I didn't think it needed a response  
> 3) It sparked some sort of inspiration and I'm keeping it as a reference (most common with long and detailed reviews)


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